Shadows of the Coming Storm
by AirHawk19
Summary: The RDA has been driven from Pandora. Jake is now Olo'ektan of the Omaticaya and the remaining humans at Hell's Gate are their allies. But, the RDA is not about to give up their cash cow and set a dark and dire plan into motion. Will Jake and the others be able to stop this darkness? Will they choose to See the new allies who flee before it?
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Avatar or any characters or materials taken from the movie, etc. No copyright infringement intended.**

 **Author's Note: This story is party inspired by Jerathai's many wonderful Avatar stories. Thanks, Jerathai for all your amazing Avatar stories that helped inspire this very flawed, but hopefully still enjoyable one. (Figures after the third rewrite I finally manage to get this original enough to post. At least, I think so.)**

Chapter 1: After.

When Jake awoke to his new life as a full Na'vi, the first thing he saw was the shining golden eyes of his mate. Neytiri's eyes were brimful of love and happiness as her mate woke and slowly sat up. She supported him in her arms, looking deeply into his eyes. Jake smiled.

"I See you," he murmured softly in Na'vi.

"I See you," she replied in kind, touching the bridge of her nose to his.

Unfortunately, the moment was interrupted by Mo'at. She gently touched Neytiri's shoulder, causing her daughter to look up. The Tsahik smiled softly at her daughter and son-in-law.

"Jake needs rest. Come. We will make him comfortable," she said, gently helping Jake to stand.

Jake got to his feet and at once felt woozy. He swayed unsteadily. Several Omaticaya moved to help, but Mo'at shooed them away.

"Back! The poor man has just been born. Give him some air or he will never recover!" the Tsahik admonished.

The Na'vi obeyed the Tsahik and kept as respectful a distance as the circumstances permitted. It wasn't every day that someone passed through Eywa and returned after all. Soon though, Neytiri and Mo'at had Jake resting comfortably on a bed of moss. Neytiri would not be parted from him and kept fierce guard over him as he slept. Mo'at left them to each other, tending to the People according to her duty, so the new Olo'ektan might recover.

After a few days, Jake was recovered enough to walk about, but Ley'net, the First Healer, said he would not be able to mount his ikran for a few more days, so they remained at the Tree of Souls awhile longer. During this time, Mo'at spent a good deal of time in the tsahik-trance, communing with the All Mother to ascertain what the Clan should do once all were able to travel, for more than a few of the People were injured and in need of healing before they could be safely moved. On the seventh day after Jake's transfer, when Ley'net pronounced him able to ride and many of the others able to be moved, Mo'at had her answer.

Standing before the People, the Tsahik made known the will of Eywa. "The People will fly to the north. When they come upon a pair of ikran flying in the mating dance above a great tree, they will know they have found the new Hometree. At the base of the tree, they will also find a large group of yerik. The hunters are to take as many of the herd as they can shoot, even unto the whole of the herd, for the People. This is the will of Eywa."

Many of the Na'vi gasped, for there was no doubt the hunters could easily take a whole herd and such was not normally their way, but if the Tsahik said it was will of Eywa it was not their place to question. Jake suddenly stood up straighter and came forward almost as though in a trance.

His eyes locked with Mo'at's and he said, "The Tree of Voices grows again."

Mo'at was stunned by the look in his eyes even more than by his announcement. She just barely had the composure left to inquire, "What?"

"When the time is right, the People will find the new Tree of Voices growing near the new Hometree," Jake's eyes never lost their intense focus, but a small smile played at the corners of his mouth. "One more thing…" he gestured with his chin and Mo'at followed him a short distance away.

Everyone wanted to know what he was saying, but stayed where they were, for it was obviously a private message for Mo'at. As they watched, the Tsahik's ears went straight up in utter shock, but as Jake continued to murmur softly in her ear, Mo'at's eyes closed, tears streaming down her face even as she brought her hands to cover her mouth. Jake smiled softly and laid a gentle hand on her trembling shoulder.

When he turned back to the crowd, they could see the intense focus had gone from Jake's eyes, but he retained a commanding air as he said, "Go. Mount up. Take nothing with you this first trip, but what you can carry easily. We do not know how far our new home is."

Everyone who was able to ride scrambled to fulfill the Olo'ektan's commands. Soon they were ready to depart. They flew for nearly a day before they found the tree. It was as Tsahik Mo'at had said. A pair of ikran were flying in the mating dance above the tree and at the base was a large herd of yerik. The hunters at once began their work and soon the beasts were ready for the cooks, who quickly went to their trade. Those who were not needed to begin the work, went back to ferry those who could not ride and all their possessions.

As soon as everyone was settled into the work of moving into New Hometree, Jake contacted Norm via his throat radio. "Hey, Norm. How are things on your end?"

"Oh, about as well as can be expected. All the avatar drivers are on board with us one hundred percent as well as the few staff that took a stand. However, most of the base is shut down to save power and because we just don't have the people to run it anyway. As soon as we get everything settled down a little we're going to start dismantling all the factories and mining ops," the scientist's voice replied, sounding dead tired and about a decade older.

Jake winced to hear the change in his friend's voice. "Take care of yourself, man. I need you out here too. Once we get settled, I'll be flying your avatar out here myself. In the meantime, get some sleep. Those factories aren't going anywhere."

Norm chuckled. "Will do, chief. I'll let you know if anything happens. Goodnight."

Jake smirked. "Good. Over and out."

* * *

Norm ran a hand down his face, sighing. He was exhausted. Now that the RDA was gone, the full impact of what he and the others had done was starting to sink in. As Grace's protégé and the avatar driver with the best relationship with the Na'vi, he found himself the de facto leader of the humans at Hell's Gate and that responsibility was weighing pretty heavy on his shoulders right now. Suddenly, he felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Hey. You're not in this alone you know. None of us are. We all knew it was probably signing our own death warrants to side with the Na'vi, but we chose to do it. We _chose_ to stand up for what's right for once in our lives. We're all in this together, Norm and we've all got your back," Max said, patting his friend on the shoulder.

Norm gave him a wane smile. "Thanks, man. I needed that."

Max nodded. "Yes, and you also need some sleep. Come on. Everything will still be here in the morning."

Norm nodded and slowly made his way to his quarters.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Escape.

Night had fallen over the western hemisphere of Earth, but darkness and silence were things of a past long forgotten. The streets were brilliantly lit with artificial lights of all sizes, shapes and colors. The noise of traffic never stopped. Always, there were people awake and hurrying here and there, going about their business. Those who kept 'reasonable hours,' were obliged to find various means of shutting out the lights and noise so they could sleep.

Besides all the constant hustle and bustle, there was a constant smog over everything from factories, vehicles, and other polluters and the stink of garbage was everywhere. Even still, the wastelands outside of the barely habitable cities were worse. If you tried to breathe the air out there, you got the inside of your sinuses and lungs scorched from the acrid fumes.

This was the world the RDA and the other corporations ruled. A bleak, barren, dead world populated by trillions of slaves who toiled for the good of the company. They were numbers. Dispensable, insignificant figures on a chart, nothing more. With this mindset, the rulers of Earth ran their affairs, human life having long ceased to mean anything to them. They were all-powerful, untouchable, and could take whatever they wanted. At least in their own minds.

Tonight however, the RDA's CEO was most perturbed. On his desk-screen were two reports. One was from HR stating that nearly 100,000 employees had perished in the last major accident at one of the plants. But this was not what disturbed the normally impassive CEO. No, the report that caused him his current state of mental agitation was the last unobtanium report from Selfridge, stating that not only was his supply of Pandoran unobtanium cut off, but also that his people had been thrown off the planet by a bunch of blue monkey savages! This was unacceptable!

Calming himself, he pressed a button on his desk. A face appeared on the screen in front of him, cold and impassive as his own.

"Start 'Project Scourge,'" he commanded in a cold, even voice.

The man on the screen nodded. "Understood."

* * *

On the other side of the city, a lone figure stood on the roof of a building looking towards the RDA tower. "So, it has begun. It is time for the others to go. I will remain to watch and wait for the time long promised. I must tell Illira at once," the figure murmured in a soft voice of resignation, before disappearing into the night.

At midnight a shuttle left Earth and made contact with what appeared to be an asteroid in orbit around the planet. As soon as the shuttle left, the outline of the asteroid shimmered and changed shape as the cloaking device was deactivated. A moment later, the outer hull of the relatively small black ship (compared to the ISVs that is) glowed blue as the hyperdrive powered up, then vanished into hyperspace.

Six months later, the ship emerged from hyperspace. It was badly damaged and disintegrating due to age and the strain of the journey, but the pilot managed to get it through Pandora's upper atmosphere. Just low enough to where the passengers and crew could bail, but still high enough to where the impending explosion wouldn't damage anything on the surface.

Alarms blared throughout the ship as people snatched up their packs and headed for one of the two wide open drop doors. As soon as the last person bailed and was just far enough away, the ship blew up in a spectacular but harmless fireball. As the group free fell, steering towards a large clearing in the jungle, the knowledge that their only way off this world had just completely vaporized behind them, sank in. As they came in for a landing, each of them came to accept that this world was their home now and they would fight to defend and protect it.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: New Arrivals.

The past six month had been quiet and productive. The Omaticaya had settled into New Hometree, the humans at Hell's Gate had dismantled all the mining equipment and factories and settled into a routine… all in all, everything was good. Then everything changed.

"Incoming ship, Norm! There's a ship just entered Pandora's orbit!" exclaimed the man who was monitoring the space/air traffic screens.

"You sure, Kyle?" Norm asked, concern gripping his heart, though he kept it out of his voice surprisingly well.

"Yes! It's just entered the atmosphere," Kyle replied.

"Hail them. Max! Get Jake on the horn. Tell him what's going on," Norm commanded, snapping into what his colleagues affectionately called 'Grace mode.'

Everyone hurried to obey, knowing full well their lives could be at stake.

"No response. Something's wrong, Norm. They're not ignoring us. According to these readouts, if I'm reading them right, their ship is not RDA and it's in trouble. Whoa!"

"What?" Norm asked.

"Look for yourself," Kyle said, gesturing for Norm to look at the scopes.

Norm looked and saw the afterglow of a vaporized ship. "What the heck just happened? Are there any survivors?"

"Looks like they all bailed just before it blew. According to the scans, they're headed for a large clearing thirty klicks west of here," Max said, looking at the screen.

"I'll have a war party there in an hour. Meet us there and we'll confront these new Sky People together," Jake's voice said over the radio.

"Will do, Jake. See you soon," Norm said, ending the transmission.

* * *

In an hour's time, a party of about twenty Na'vi warriors lead by Jake met up with a party of about twenty armed humans led by Norm. They entered the clearing together and found a huge group of humans, all sitting together and singing in a low, mournful way. Jake and Norm both paused and held their people back, listening to the singing of the newcomers. Soon the song changed from one of mourning to one of entreaty, then finally, one of acceptance and thanks.

Once the singing was over, the newcomers rose as a body and turned to face their challengers. The expressions of their faces were kind and friendly, if a little sad and the whole air and manner of the group was not threatening in the least, yet one could feel these people had power. But what truly amazed and puzzled the Na'vi was the fact that some of the strangers looked like a cross between human and beast, while others glowed with strange light, and still others had metal body parts. Jake and Norm however, along with the other humans, blinked in surprise and recognition. They knew what these new humans were and had a fairly good guess as to why they were here.

Jake took the lead on this one. "Who are you and why have you come here?"

One of the strangers, a woman who appeared to be in her early twenties, stepped forward. "We are the last free mutants of Earth. We have come to escape the RDA's new 'Mutant Workforce' program. They are taking mutants as young as five years old from their families and forcing them into slavery."

The Na'vi all got looks of unfettered horror and disgust on their faces. One or two even retched, so repulsive was the idea to them of children being ripped from their families.

Jake's ears flattened against his skull in anger at the RDA and his tail lashed back and forth. He took a deep, calming breath. "So, you do not serve the RDA?"

"No. We have opposed the RDA and all the other corporations for centuries," the speaker for the mutants replied.

Jake nodded, pleased to find the rumors that the mutants mostly opposed the corporations were true. "What is your name?" he asked.

"I am Illira. I was chosen to speak for those with me."

"How many are here?"

"There are one hundred of us all together. Twenty of each of the Five Divisions are here. Twenty Beastoids, including myself, twenty Teloids, twenty Energions, twenty Elementals, and twenty Techies," Illira answered.

"What will the Techies do? Their powers all involve technology," Jake inquired.

"If the normal humans are willing, they will move in with them. The rest of us, as our heal factor allows us to adapt to Pandora's atmosphere and environment, will begin looking for a place to call home," Illira proposed, looking at Norm.

Norm nodded. "That would be a big help, since your guys would be able to work the machines no problem. Heck! They could probably find a million ways to keep the RDA out of the systems!"

"Sounds like we have an agreement. But be warned; if any of your people do anything to harm Pandora or a single Na'vi or human here, there will be severe consequences," Jake warned, looking hard at the group of mutants.

Illira returned his gaze in a calm, clear, non-hostile way. "We would expect no less from Jake Sully, the Protector of Pandora. Watch us well, so that you may See the truth of our intent. Do not just take our word for it."

Jake was thrown by the insight and command Illira gave, but soon recovered enough to say, "Time will tell."

Illira nodded with a smile as she and her people departed, with the exception of the twenty Techies, two of the Energions, and one of the Teloids, who went with Norm's group back to Hell's Gate.

As he led his warriors back to New Hometree, Jake pondered all that Illira had said. If he was honest, the fact that she challenged him and his people to watch her and her people made him more inclined to believe her when she said they meant no harm. Unless of course it was a clever trick to get them to lower their guard, but it seemed like either the cleverest trick in the book or the stupidest. Jake shook his head. Only time would tell if the mutants' intentions were true. Until then, Jake would take Illira at her word and watch them well, but he wasn't about to let her know that.

 **Author's Note: The Five Divisions of Mutant Powers are: Beastoids; animal based powers, Energions; energy based powers, Elementals; powers based on one of the four elements (earth, water, fire, air), Techies; powers based on controlling/creating technology, and Teliods; mind-based powers (telepathy, telekinesis, etc.).**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Trick or Truth?

Sikan, an Omaticaya hunter in his prime, prowled along the jungle canopy with all the stealth of a hunting palulukan. He was the one tasked to watch the mutants this day and he took especial care not to be seen or heard as per the Olo'ektan's instructions. It was a fair trek to the place the mutants who had not moved in with the Dreamwalker Clan had begun to settle. Sikan instantly knew he was in the right place when he found it though; a large clearing halfway between New Hometree and Hell's Gate, with tall blue-grey rock walls on one side and forest on the other.

Today, the mutants were constructing some kind of shelters near the protection of the rock walls. To make a shelter they took four great long poles of wood, the two nearest the rock wall longer than the two in front, and drove them into the ground, lashing cross-members to them to make them strong and solid to support a structure. Then they lashed four shorter poles to the four corner poles to form a square frame roughly three-quarters of the way up. To these poles they lashed more short poles to form a floor. To the top of the structure, they lashed a frame made of slender wooden poles, through which they wove tautral leaves and covered with the naturally water-proof leather of yerik hide to make a slanted roof. The walls of the hut were also made from yerik leather secured to the poles and cross-members and a door curtain of woven grasses completed it.

Sikan watched as they built roughly fifty of the shelters and noted that they carefully harvested the materials they needed. They had already obviously hunted a fair number of yerik, but no more than what they needed for food as well as leather and other materials. They never took more than the bare minimum amount of wood from a given area and they never over-harvested the grasses and leaves they used for their weaving.

 _"Do they know I am watching and so play the part of keeping the balance? Or do they truly live this way? No other Sky People have lived so, not even in pretense,"_ thought Sikan as he continued to watch. Soon, he noticed something else odd about the mutants. _"They wear no foot covers! They go about with their feet as bare as the People!"_

It was true. Every one of the mutants in the village was barefoot and clothed in only shorts and tank tops. This promoted personal comfort in the jungle climate and mobility in the lower gravity and denser atmosphere of Pandora. That shocking discovery aside, Sikan fell to watching the mutants go about their lives. He saw some of them go to the stream that flowed through one side of the clearing to gather water for the cooks and clay to make pottery. Those who gathered the clay took it back to their respective shelters and in the spaces under the huts 'set up shop,' so to speak. Sikan watched the potters for a while in fascination.

Apparently, those who were of the potter's profession had made simple pottery wheels from large flat round stones. Each potter would take a lump of clay and cast it onto their wheel, spinning the wheel with one hand, while shaping the clay with the other. If the clay began to get dry, there was a wooden bowl of water nearby that they would scoop a handful out of to keep their work wet and workable. Once the vessel took shape and they were satisfied with their work, the potters would carefully set the pot or cup or whatever they had just formed onto a drying shelf in the sun, then go to work on the next piece. After watching them for some minutes, Sikan's attention drifted to another group.

This group was at work among several fire pits nearer the stream than the shelters. They were the cooks, busily preparing the midday meal as well as organizing what stores they had. It was then that Sikan noticed another structure being built nearby. It too was on poles, eight of them, with many cross-members, and it was much longer and not a little deeper than any of the little huts. This structure had a wooden floor also and its roof was the same as the huts, but its walls were made of woven tautral leaves and it had two doors (one at either end) made of wooden frames with more tautral leaves woven through them and swung on rope-vine hinges. These doors were also secured shut by wooden poles that slid through wooden brackets, to prevent any animals from getting in.

Once it was completed, several people began carrying bundles of food to it. Carry-nets of fruit, bunches of other edible plants, strings of cured fish, slabs of cured meat… all that was not needed right away was carried to the long shelter and left inside. This was obviously the storehouse, but it was not only for food stuffs, but healing plants and herbs as well, for Sikan noticed some people carrying bunches of plants the Na'vi used for healing to the door on the other side from those carrying the food.

 _"They must have divided the storehouse into two parts. One for food, the other for medicine. That's actually not a bad idea,"_ Sikan mused before turning his attention to the shadows, which told him the time of day. _"Iee! I'm going to be late for the midday meal if I don't pick up my tail!"_

* * *

The next day, a new Na'vi hunter was perched in the canopy near the mutant village after midday. Peyral settled onto the branch she had chosen, relaxed but still ready to bolt at a moment's notice. She saw all that Sikan had described; the funny little huts on poles, the storehouse, the potters and cooks going about their work… but these held no particular interest for her other than a passing glance. What drew Peyral's attention almost immediately was the archery ground.

On one side of the clearing, facing away from the huts, but right into a section of rock, where a series of targets. Some were the size and shape of a human, with the head and a fist-sized spot on the chest marked in red. Others were simple round targets the size of a human fist. There were several mutants lined up side-by-side practicing their skills on these round targets.

At first, Peyral was impressed with their skill, for not one arrow missed its mark. Then she noticed something different about the way the hunters shot. They held their bows in the opposite hand and held the string with three fingers from the opposite side from what the Na'vi did. Also, they wore arm guards on both arms and their bows were shorter. Not just proportionally shorter, but rather shorter than a human sized Na'vi bow should be. But still, the bows where powerful, for the shooters stood further back than any Na'vi archer and their arrows went deeper.

Once the stationary practice was over, the mutant hunters engaged in a drill that Peyral had never seen before. They shot their bows while running! From one end of the line of targets to the other they ran, one behind the other, shooting two arrows at each target in turn, but never stopping once 'til they reached the end of the course. Then they'd switch hands and do it again going the other way, hence why they wore arm guards on both arms. During this exercise, an arrow occasionally missed its mark and struck the rock, bouncing off harmlessly.

Tearing her curious eyes away from the scene, Peyral turned to observe another interesting sight. Some of the mutants were sitting under their huts making weapons. Most were crafting bows, but some were crafting arrows. The bow-makers started out with a piece of sturdy, flexible wood, which they shaped and polished. Then they took pieces of strong, flexible bone and shaped and polished that. The bone was used to strengthen and add power to the limbs of the short bows and was molded over them and secured with strong, glue-like plant resin and yerik sinew. The string was made of sinew as well, with a small bead marking the rough center.

The arrows were crafted more or less the same as those of the Na'vi, with one important exception. One type had heads made from diamond. One or two of the mutants could produce diamond at will and in any shape they wished, so they crafted slender, needlepoint arrowheads designed to pierce and penetrate, perfect for combat against armored warriors. However, these arrows seemed to be stored away for later use and only the ordinary stone broad-heads and 'bird' points were used in everyday life.

As Peyral watched, she also noticed that every mutant carried a metal knife. They all seemed to be hunting knives, though they were stout enough to be used in battle at need. Some of the knives had ornate sheaths or intricate designs on either blade or hilt, and appeared to have been handed down through generations as great family treasures. Others were simple and plain. Some were long, others were short, and some were clearly old, but just as sharp and useful as ever. One thing was abundantly clear though; these people clearly valued their knives, for they took care to never be without them and used them only at need.

A flash of color and movement caught Peyral's eyes and she looked over. In the clearing a group of ikranay had landed and the archers were walking towards them, their bows on their backs. What happened next made Peyral's mouth drop open and her ears stand up in shock. The mutants _mounted_ the ikranay and took off on a hunt! How they managed to tame the beasts without tsaheylu was a mystery, but one that would have to wait for another day. It was nearing time for her to return, so Peyral silently made her way home.

* * *

After this, Jake had hunters and scouts follow the mutants on their hunts as well as watch the village, to see what they did. Jeyna, a young female hunter with a real talent for tracking while remaining undetected, was following a lone mutant hunter who was headed out on foot one day. Despite her talent, Jeyna found it difficult to keep pace with the little huntress, as she moved through the trees on swift and silent bare feet.

After tracking the mutant for some time, Jeyna saw her slow up, sniffing the air as well as scanning the forest floor. Soon the mutant stopped and took an arrow from the quiver on her back. Jeyna watched as she nocked it, drew the fletching to her ear, and slowly exhaled, releasing her arrow as she did her breath. A single scream of shock came from below and a herd of yerik scattered.

As soon as the mutant dropped down to her kill, Jeyna moved to where she could see what went on below. Apparently the mutant was a deadly shot, for the yerik below was dead, obviously dropped the instant the arrow struck it. Before she field dressed the animal, the mutant spoke some words over it in her native tongue. "Blessed art Thou, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, Who giveth life to all things. Thanks be to You for Your provision this day. May Your blessings ever flow upon Your people. Amen."

Jeyna understood little of what was said, but she got the distinct impression that the mutant was praying. Though the words were for the most part foreign to her, Jeyna couldn't help feeling this was a clean kill, though it was clear the mutant wasn't thanking the yerik for its gifts, but someone much higher, though the name of Eywa was never mentioned.

 _"I must speak with the Tsahik about this as well as the Olo'ektan. At once,"_ Jeyna thought as she left for New Hometree.

When Jeyna came in to make her report, she found the others who had been sent to watch the mutant hunting and foraging parties had arrived as well. All had similar stories to tell. The mutants apparently worshiped a deity of some sort and this puzzled the Na'vi. Mo'at turned to Jake.

"I thought you said the Sky People had no one like Eywa to watch them," she said, a small smirk on her face as a theory took shape in her mind.

Jake's face was one of puzzlement. "They don't. At least, I thought they didn't."

Mo'at smiled. "Perhaps you have forgotten your Maker."

Jake thought for several minutes, but no matter how hard he thought and searched his memories, he just couldn't remember ever hearing about a God that humans could actually talk to like the Na'vi could with Eywa. But at the same time, in the back of his skull was a nagging feeling that there was such a God and that Mo'at was right, they had forgotten Him.

 _"In fact they killed Him."_

Jake blinked in surprise at the thought that literally popped into his head. It hadn't come from his memories, but distinctly came from outside himself. He got a serious, but not angry or hostile look on his face. "We need to pay a visit to the mutant village. Soon."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: Hidden Secrets.

Twenty-five year old Maria Hortens stared at the screen in front of her, her hands resting on either side of it. To anyone walking by, she looked to be intently studying the display, but in reality, Maria was looking much further than the mere surface of the screen. As a Techie mutant, Maria had the power of 'cyber-sight,' meaning she could literally look inside a computer to read every bit of code in the entire system. All she needed was to be left alone near an access point, such as a screen, and she could read an entire system in a matter of two or three hours tops.

She had currently been sitting at the terminal for nearly four hours. She'd already been through the entire system once, but something in a certain section of code didn't sit right with her, so she was taking a closer look. What she found was a hidden program cleverly hidden in the communications array. Upon closer inspection Maria gasped, pulling away from the computer and running straight to Norm's office.

Norm was just putting his tablet down when the agitated mutant burst into his office without knocking. Looking up, Norm nearly jumped when he saw the intense and excited look on Maria's face. "What is it? Did you find something in the computer systems?" he asked, longing for and dreading the answer.

Maria took a calming breath, then launched into an animated description of what she'd found. "I looked through all the code and everything seemed normal at first glance, but there was a certain section in the communications array that seemed just a little wonky to me. After looking closer, I found a trail of odd code. Not normally something to be concerned about, but something about it just didn't sit right with me, so I followed the trail and bingo! I found the motherlode!"

"What? The motherlode of what?" Norm asked, for Maria was getting excited again.

"Secrets. Hidden secrets deep within the programing. If it hadn't been for that little nagging feeling in the back of my skull, even I would have overlooked it, but it's there. Here, let me pull it up and I'll show you," Maria grabbed Norm's tablet and called up the code in question. With a single thought she translated it into laymen's terms so Norm could understand what she was talking about, then went on with her explanation. "You see here, this program was hidden in with the communications array. On the surface, it just looks like a standard info upload/download directive when a ship gets in com-range, but if you look closely at this section here, you see that it's really a spy-bot."

Norm looked and sure enough, the code in question was a directive to store all tactical data on the Na'vi and Pandora, then send it to any RDA ship in range. Norm's heart sank as he read more into the code and realized it had access to all recording systems and could take anything from anywhere. If it was recorded, the program could get it and would if it was relevant.

"Is there any way to stop it?" Norm asked, looking up at Maria with a very disheartened look on his face.

Maria grinned. "Oh, there are several things I can do. The easiest is to simply remove the bot from the system."

Norm blinked. "But… isn't that complicated? You'd have to go through every line of code with a fine-toothed comb to make sure you not only got all of the spy-bot, but didn't delete anything important."

Maria laughed. "Delete? Who said anything about deleting? Didn't you know that when you delete something a 'ghost' always remains behind that anyone with the right skills can retrieve? Besides, I could remove a bot like that in my sleep. Anyway, that's not our only option nor is it really the best."

"What do you mean? Wouldn't it be best to get this thing out of the system?" Norm asked.

"If I remove the bot from the system, the RDA will know it as soon as the next supply ship arrives and doesn't beam them the info when they get back in communications range with Earth. However, another option is for me to reconfigure the bot to not siphon information and to only upload what we tell it to upload," Maria's smirk was positively cunning.

The lightbulb went off in Norm's head as the full impact of what Maria had just said sank in. "We could turn their own spy-ware against them. This is amazing! Can you really do that?"

Maria's smile faltered a little. "Yes, but it'll take some time. I'll need complete concentration in order to not mess up the code rewrite. Any computer programmer will tell you that rewriting code is far harder than simply destroying it and starting from scratch."

Norm nodded. He wasn't an IT guy, none of the people still at Hell's Gate were, but he could appreciate that fact that it wasn't easy to rewrite a program's directives. "Do it. Whatever you need, just let me know and I'll make sure you have it."

Maria nodded. "All I need is about five hours of uninterrupted quiet with the mainframe."

Norm nodded again, thanking Maria as she headed off to work her magic with the mainframe. Once he was alone again, Norm thought back over the past few weeks. It had been a little crazy getting the mutants all settled and integrated in with the normal population at Hell's Gate, but in the end, the mutants had proven themselves to be peaceful coworkers and very good friends.

When they first arrived, the mutants at once requested to be put to work and accepted any assignment no matter how difficult or menial. It was this willing, cheerful attitude that had first surprised the normal humans and started to break the ice. As the days passed, the mutants proved themselves by not only performing the duties they had been given, but by using their powers to improve the base as well. The Techies were easily able to repair, repurpose, and even enhance all the equipment at Hell's Gate and were starting to go through the computer systems to improve security and efficiency.

That was what Maria had been doing when she found the RDA's secret spy-bot in the communications array. Norm wondered what other secrets lurked in the depths of code all throughout the computers and what such secrets might entail. He sighed. Worrying wasn't going to help anyone and all the Techies with cyber-related powers were working on combing through all the code, rooting out anything dangerous, so until something that he could do something about came up, Norm resigned himself to wait. That didn't mean he had to like it though.

Glancing at his clock, Norm noticed the time and blinked. He hadn't realized that it was almost time for his daily call to Jake. His friend would be wanting to know how the mutants at Hell's Gate were behaving. Norm shook his head. Jake still didn't trust the mutants, though he'd had his people watching them for a few weeks now. Standing up, he walked down to the link room and looked at the link unit.

Norm smiled softly, remembering how he had thought his avatar was dead for sure and his surprise and delight when he learned that it had been saved by a couple of Na'vi warriors, who managed to get it to their healer. The healer had stopped the bleeding and once the fighting was over, sent the avatar back to Hell's Gate with an honor guard. Max and one of the surgeons had managed to remove the bullets and told Norm he could link in again in a few weeks. That had been months ago. Now, Norm's avatar resided at New Hometree and he made a point to link in sometime around midday to talk with Jake and care for his avatar's needs.

Smiling, Norm climbed into the link unit and linked in. Soon, his golden eyes opened and he yawned, stretching his stiff muscles. He carefully climbed out of his hammock and headed down to the cooks' area for something to eat. Once he'd satisfied his avatar's hunger, Norm began looking for his friend. Jake made a habit of visiting the various trade masters to learn about what they did and how it benefitted the Clan. He also did this to help improve his Na'vi, which was nearly fluent now. Norm was proud of his friend's accomplishment and was firmly convinced he would be a good Olo'ektan, even if Jake himself wasn't so sure.

After walking around the various trade areas, Norm finally found Jake talking with the First Weapon Maker, who was overseeing several journeymen as they oversaw their apprentices, who were trying to craft arrowheads with more enthusiasm than success. Norm smiled as one of the journeymen scolded his student for holding the stone wrong and nearly smashing his own hand. Jake then noticed his friend and waved him over. Norm walked over and the two walked off towards a small clearing nearby to talk.

Once they arrived at the clearing, Jake turned to Norm, an unusual look on his face. "Hey, Norm. I'm glad you're here. Have the mutants at Hell's Gate found anything?"

Norm blinked in surprise. Jake's question was different from what he usually asked and his tone was more respectful instead of its usual distrust. Snapping out of his thoughts, Norm replied. "As a matter of fact, Maria found a spy-bot in the communications array. She's rewriting the program now so that we can control what it sends when the next supply ship comes."

Jake's ears stood up. That meant they would have a direct way of feeding misinformation to the RDA. This would be a huge advantage if they played it right. It also meant that he had been very wrong to distrust the mutants, as they had proven over and over again just how trustworthy they were.

Turning to his friend, Jake asked the question he had been longing to ask ever since the discovery of the mutants' faith. "Norm, have any of the mutants with you mentioned anything about a 'King of the Universe'?"

Norm was surprised. He had heard the mutants talking about 'God' and praying to the 'King of the Universe,' but he hadn't mentioned it to Jake because he was worried it might make him reject the mutants. Now, he saw that it had stirred questions in Jake's mind. Just as he was about to tell him about what he knew of ancient Christianity, Norm got a bad feeling in his gut. So instead he answered, "Yes, I've heard them praying and they go to a worship service every Sunday at the mutant village."

"Why? What's it all about?" Jake asked.

Norm felt the answer even as he said it. "I don't know. You'll have to ask them to get the answers you need."

Jake nodded his head, his eyes getting a determined look in them. "Mo'at wants to visit the mutant village to learn more about this and so do Neytiri and myself. We will go tomorrow. If you don't mind, Norm keep this to yourself. I want to make it a surprise visit."

Norm smiled. "Sure thing, Jake. I've got my own questions to ask the mutants back home."

Jake smiled, knowing Norm would keep the secret. The two friends talked of other things, mostly telling each other what had happened since their last meeting. After that, they went their separate ways, each to his own duties.

 **Author's Note: I would like to thank everyone who has Reviewed, Followed, or Favorited this story. It is a real encouragement.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: To Conquer the Universe.

The CEO of the RDA sat behind his desk looking over the latest reports from the various training camps for Project Scourge. The number of mutant soldier trainees was up by 10% since he lowered the acquisition age to five years old, but the number of ready soldiers was only 18% so far. Unsatisfactory, but he didn't have much choice other than to wait, since you could only train soldiers so fast, mutant or normal.

Speaking of which, the CEO turned his attention to another report on his screen, concerning the status of his normal army. The numbers were little better than Project Scourge, but satisfactory for now. He then looked back at the paper Project Scourge files in his hand. These files were so top secret, he didn't dare let them be recorded by any electronic method. Computers and other electronic systems could be hacked, paper couldn't. Placing the files in the filing drawer section of his desk, the CEO looked at one final paper document. This was a report on the status of the mercenary team he sometimes hired for… 'special' assignments. What he saw pleased the CEO. Finally! Something was going according to plan.

Putting the file away and pressing a button on his desk, he called up a certain party. The screen was dark, only showing the silhouette of the person on the other end of the call. "Get your team together. You ship out right away," the CEO said.

"I presume that means we've got the job?" a low masculine voice said from the silhouette.

The CEO sighed internally. He'd dealt with this mercenary before. "Yes, you have the job and yes, you will be paid. Half before you ship out and half when the job is done as usual."

The silhouetted mercenary inclined his head. "Agreed. We will arrive at dawn."

The CEO sighed aloud as soon as the transmission ended. He hated dealing with this man and his shadow soldiers, but they were the best at their jobs and they were the only ones with the tech to pull off what he needed them to pull off. Since it took one ship six years to reach Pandora, in order to keep the base at Hell's Gate stocked and supplied with food, medicine, and equipment, the RDA sent one ship every year, give or take a few months. Out of the five ships that had been launched after the one Sully was on, two had been ordered by Hell's Gate to return before they passed the point of no return and they had, much to the CEO's displeasure. He would deal with those traitors when they got back, but right now he needed to focus on getting his mercenary crew aboard the ship closest to Earth, but still bound for Pandora.

The only problem was, the ship had been in-flight for a little over three years and was beyond reach of any vessel. Or so everyone thought. What the public and even most high ranking people didn't know, was that there was one ship capable of entering hyper-flight. There were just two catches though. It could only just barely catch the furthest ship out from Pandora and it belonged to the captain of the mercenary crew, and their services weren't cheap because of it.

That was the main reason the CEO detested them so much. They knew they had power over him because they owned that ship, not him and he resented anyone having any power over him. In truth, if he could have taken their ship from them and forced them under his control, he would have done so in a heartbeat. But that was impossible, for other corporations had tried and failed. The CEO of the RDA was one to learn not only from his own mistakes, but those of his friends and enemies as well, so when he heard of two CEO's of two other corporations mysteriously dying after rumored failed attempts at stealing the mercs' ship, he wisely refrained from repeating that mistake and simply paid them whatever outrageous price they asked. That didn't mean he had to like it though.

Pressing another button on his desk, the CEO buzzed his personal assistant. "Jeffery, report to my office."

* * *

Jeffery grabbed his suit jacket and settled it on his shoulders before heading up to his superior's office. His gate was measured and controlled, but if anyone had known him well, they would have detected the stress-lines on his forehead. It wasn't often the CEO summoned his personal assistant and heir apparent, but when he did, Jeffery could be sure there was trouble brewing. As he made his way down the hall to the CEO's office, he wondered if he had possibly done something to warrant this summons, but quickly pushed the thought away. It wouldn't do to allow his mind to become clouded with worry. If it was something he'd done, the CEO would let him know, one way or another.

Jeffery soon came to the door of the office. It looked like a standard door made of steel, but in reality, was three feet thick and designed to withstand a missile strike, just like the walls, floor, and ceiling of the room beyond. The receptionist pressed the buzzer and the door slid up into the ceiling, preventing an intruder from using it as cover and also turning it into an effective weapon against them. Jeffery entered the office and the door lowered, sealing him and the CEO inside.

The office was impressive. The walls were a dark steel-blue color and a carpet of the same covered the floor. To the side of the door, seated in a black faux leather chair behind a sleek high tech desk of cold glossy black metal, was the CEO. Jeffery tried to gauge from his expression what kind of mood he was in today, but the CEO's face was impassive and white as marble as always. It was impossible to tell his mood that way. So, Jeffery made the obvious first move at conversation as always.

"You sent for me, sir?"

The CEO steepled his fingers. "Yes. Tell me, Jeffery what is your opinion on the progress of our plans?"

Jeffery was unsure how to answer, but deemed the consequences of not answering to be far greater. "I believe they are as good as can be expected at the moment."

"Oh, really? And what evidence do you base this opinion on?" the CEO's face was unchanged, but his voice had a slightly darkened undertone.

Jeffery knew he had to word his next answer carefully or risk losing everything, including his life. "Well, as far as Project Scourge is concerned, there are only so many mutants in the world and you can only properly train soldiers so fast or you wind up with raw recruits that cause far more problems than they're worth or worse. As for the regular army, they require minimal conditioning, but we need more intel before we can deploy them with any sort of strategy, plus there's the time it takes to reach Pandora. As for the mercenary team, you know as well as I that trying to bring them under our direct control would be disastrous. Mutants of their… advanced age and experience are almost impossible to control."

"Hence why the Fifty Survivors of the Last Great War were a top priority to acquire and recondition. If we had succeeded with them, there would be no need to deal with the mercenaries," the CEO said, his voice deathly low.

Jeffery mentally sighed in relief that the CEO's hostility wasn't directed at him. He hadn't been in charge of that disaster and the man who had was now resting at the bottom of the Atlantic. Failure was not tolerated in the RDA.

"As things stand though, you are correct. Progress is slow, but as good as can be expected at this point. Inform George that the mercenaries shall arrive at dawn. They are to report directly to me as soon as they arrive," the CEO said, dismissing Jeffery with a subtle wave of his hand.

Jeffery left the CEO's office feeling rather unsettled. Despite the CEO's ability to keep his face frozen in an unreadable expression, Jeffery could tell the man was frustrated with the lack of progress and he feared it was only a matter of time before the CEO exploded in a fit of rage. It had happened only once before and four people had died by the CEO's hands, his bare hands, before he was subdued. It had taken nearly half-a-dozen tranquilizer darts to stop him and two months of self-therapy before he could trust himself to return to duty. If that happened again, it wouldn't be tranquilizer darts stopping the CEO. It would be a permanent solution. A change of leadership and Jeffery would be the one to pull the trigger. The CEO's heir apparent patted the hidden holster in his jacket. He knew that the time was coming when he would use the poison darts in the gun on his former superior. The question was… when?


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: Long Forgotten Truth.

When Jake, Neytiri and Mo'at entered the village, they were surprised to see Illira come walking towards them with two other mutants. Illira beamed a winning smile at them. "We were hoping you'd come. There's much we need to talk about," she said in perfect Na'vi, which all the mutants now spoke.

The three Omaticaya simply followed the three mutants, stunned speechless that they seemed to be expected, though they knew Norm would not have said anything that would have given the surprise away. They were led over to a kind of natural alcove in the rock and sat on the ground, while their hosts stood so they were closer to eye-level with them.

Illira spoke first. "Allow me to introduce our preacher, Brandon Marks and his wife Freda Marks. They're the head of the Council of Five, the actual leaders of our people."

"Please, just call me Brandon," said the preacher as he shook his guests' hands.

"And I'm Freda. We prefer to just go by our first names. It puts people at ease quicker," Freda said, smiling kindly.

"Now, what can we do for you?" Brandon asked.

It was Mo'at who first spoke. "Who is this 'King of the Universe' your people worship? Is He like Eywa?"

Brandon smiled, feeling in his element. "Yes and no. He is God Almighty, the Creator of all things. You see, 'In the beginning, God created the heavens and the Earth.' He made the sun, moon, stars, and all other heavenly bodies and set them in their courses according to His will and it was good. He then made the Earth and all that was in it and it was good. The last thing God made was Man and He gave him special honor, making him in His own image and setting him to rule the Earth and care for it and for a time it was good. But Man was tempted by the Evil One and disobeyed the one command God had given him and the perfect harmony between God and Man was broken.

"But God did not desire that Man should forever be separated from Him, so He sent His Son to be born to us. God the Son willingly came to be born among us and live with us as one of us. He knew all our weakness, pain, trials, and temptations, but was without sin. But many of those who lived while He was on Earth despised Him. They called Him evil and nailed Him to a cross, the punishment reserved for the worst of criminals, and killed Him. But they did not know that this was what He had come to do, to take all our sins upon Himself and pay the price of death, so that we could live and enter back into a relationship with the Father.

"However, even though death and the Evil One seemed to have won, God the Father did something amazing. He raised the Son from the dead, so that not only the Evil One and sin were defeated, but even death itself. Because of the Son's willing sacrifice of love, the price for sin was paid, the Father's wrath was satisfied, and by believing and accepting the free gift of Salvation through the Son, we can enter into a relationship with the Father and with the help of the Spirit, learn to reflect the image of our Maker as He originally designed."

Mo'at was puzzled. "So, there are three gods you worship?"

Illira chuckled. "Brandon sometimes forgets that not everyone is familiar with the story. There is only one God, but three Persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It's one of those things you just have to accept on faith, since no mortal mind can fully grasp it. One way I break it down is, the Father rules all things, the Son intercedes on behalf of those who come to Him for Salvation, and the Spirit makes known the will of God to those who have accepted the Son and will listen."

"So, you are all tsahik?" Neytiri asked.

"In a manner of speaking. Anyone can hear the voice of the Spirit, but only those who _choose_ to listen can hear it well," Freda answered.

Throughout this conversation, Jake had been sitting in dumb shock. How could he not have known this? How could he be so ignorant as to the history of his former species? These thoughts kept hammering in his head, for every word the mutants spoke rang true in the very deepest part of his heart, a part he hadn't even known existed. Actually, that was a lie. He had known it existed, he just ignored it as not important. But right now, one question burned in Jake's mind. "How come I never heard of this back on Earth?"

Everyone turned to him, slightly surprised to hear him speak finally. It was Illira who answered him though. "Because of the Last Great War. Long ago, Earth was divided between two main ways of thinking. One was devoted to protecting the Earth, caring for it as our Heavenly Father had commanded in the beginning. The other wanted to do away with what they called, 'silly superstitions that enlightened men and women had outgrown,' and just do whatever they wanted to the Earth. Brandon, Freda, and myself, along with the forty-seven eldest of our people here were on the first side, the ones who still believed in God and followed His commands. We tried to reason with our brothers and sisters on the other side, but they wouldn't listen and finally declared all-out war on us.

"We fought long and hard for many years in a long and bloody war. There were many losses on both sides, but in the end, we lost the war. After that, the Enlightened Union of Corporations took over and forbid anyone from speaking the name of God or teaching His ways or they would be executed for treason. Over the years, the faithful gathered in small groups and in secret, teaching the Way to their children and anyone who would listen. Some were betrayed and killed, but most remain hidden and keep the truth alive even now.

"But most people forgot and began to believe the false histories the Corporations spread everywhere. It is no wonder you never heard the truth before now, Jake. It's been years since anyone's been able to speak the truth freely."

Mo'at and Neytiri were shocked and astounded by all this. That a people would refuse to acknowledge their Creator and forbid His name to be spoken was inconceivable to them. They couldn't even begin to imagine the chaos that would ensue if the People did that to Eywa. It was… it was…

"Madness. Complete and utter madness. No wonder the Sky People are insane," Mo'at said, a look of utter shock on her face.

Illira nodded sadly. "Yes. It is a spirit sickness that affects all aspects of life and if it is not cured, leads to a fate worse than death. Eternal separation from God, which is the second death."

Neytiri and Mo'at gasped, horrified at the thought. Jake meanwhile, was feeling something in the depths of his soul. A slight tugging at his heart, almost like a voice calling his name from a great distance. Shaking his head, he pushed it aside for now. What he really needed to know, was more about this religion he never knew existed.

"So, can you explain this faith of yours to me? I still don't understand how something like this could exist and yet, humans have gone so wrong. Surely if they knew the truth…" Jake started.

Brandon interrupted him. "Jake, because of the Fall of Man, human nature always rebels. Let me tell you the full story of the Fall."

Brandon then opened his Bible, that he was never without it seemed, and read the full story of Creation and the Fall of Man in the book of Genesis. Mo'at and Neytiri listened with rapt attention, while Jake listened with what looked like a scowl on his face. Really, he wasn't scowling at what Brandon was reading, but at the stupidity of Eve for listening to the serpent and taking the forbidden fruit and the even greater stupidity of Adam for not only taking it with her, but not stopping her in the first place. From his perspective, if Eve didn't see through the lie, Adam should have and as a man and husband should have protected his wife, no matter the cost.

"Adam should have stopped Eve. Then he should have ripped that serpent out of the tree and stomped on it," Jake said, crossing his arms.

Brandon smiled at his observation. "I agree, Adam should have done something, but unfortunately he didn't. However, fortunately for us God did. Let me read you the story of Christ."

Brandon then turned to the book of Luke and read the account there of the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. As they listened, Neytiri and Mo'at were dumbstruck. They couldn't fathom the depth of a love that would cause Almighty Creator God to willingly die for His fallen, rebellious creation and were in awe of it. Jake too, was awestruck. The obvious love, mercy, kindness, and compassion of God was so big and unimaginable, he couldn't wrap his head around it. He shook his head.

"I still don't understand it, but I think I'm beginning to see something. I need to learn more about this before I can make up my mind about it," Jake said, looking tired just from listening.

Brandon nodded, a smile on his face. "I know it takes a while to learn about all this, let alone understand it. Come to Sunday service here at White Rock. I think it will help."

"Also Jake, many of our people are Christians. They would be more than willing to visit New Hometree and teach you about this, myself included," Illira said.

Jake nodded, feeling a little overwhelmed by all the information he had just taken in.

Mo'at spoke for him. "We would be most honored to have you come and teach us, Illira. And we will join your worship service, if you are certain we will not be a bother."

Freda smiled broadly. "Not at all. We would be honored to have you with us."

"It is decided. We will come," Mo'at said, standing and moving to leave.

Jake and Neytiri followed her, both trying to puzzle out what they had learned of the faith known as Christianity.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8: White Rock.

Norm was sitting in his office lost deep in thought. Daniel, one of the older Techies, had been telling him about Christianity; the real Christianity. The living, breathing faith that not only the mutants, but a number of normals back on Earth still believed just as strongly as the very first believers of old. Now, as an anthropologist, Norm had of course learned about the ancient 'superstition' about an all-powerful Creator God, who made everything, then destroyed it in a great flood, sparing only one family and two of every animal, then supposedly sent His Son to die on a cross, and offered salvation in exchange for blind obedience. At least, that was how it was portrayed in his studies.

Now, hearing it from an actual believer, Norm was convinced that the stories in the Bible were all true and that God really did exist. If someone had told him all this back on Earth, he would have laughed at the idea as unscientific and unfounded, but now that he had seen something here on Pandora that he could only classify as divine intervention, Norm was firmly convinced that God did indeed exist and the reason the Na'vi called humans insane was because humans had turned away from the Master of the Universe and so refusing to See the light, flailed around in the dark, stumbling ever further and further towards destruction.

"The Na'vi had it right when they called us insane. What sane people would turn away from their Creator and spit in His face? Heck! We even went so far as to kill Him!" Norm covered his face in shame. "To think just a year ago I would have laughed in the face of anyone who told me about God, then called the crazy house! I can't believe it took being brought to an alien world and seeing something so impossible that there was no denying it, to make me even consider the possibility of a divine Creator."

Norm looked at the book on his desk. It was the Bible that Daniel had given him for his own, so that he could read it on his own time. Reaching out a trembling hand, Norm touched the cool leather binding of the Book. Then, he slowly picked it up and opened it. Remembering a reference Daniel had mentioned, Norm turned to the book of Acts, chapter 17, and began to read. Norm's mouth dropped open in astonishment when he reached verses 24-28.

 _"The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands. And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else. From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us. 'For in him we live and move and have our being.' As some of your own poets have said, 'We are his offspring.'"_

Norm finished the chapter and set the Bible down, his mind coming back to the words, _"…and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live. God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us."_

It would have seemed ridiculous at one point in time to Norm, but now, in this moment, he could see clearly that God had to be real, for those verses, coupled with his own experiences seemed to scream the truth at him. God had indeed set the time and place for his life so that he would come to Pandora and see all these things so that, when the mutants came and told him about God, he would believe them. The faith of the Na'vi in a being they could not see, per se, and seeing what appeared to be that being answering their plea in time of need, had opened Norm's heart and now he was ready for the truth. He was ready to know more of his Maker.

Standing up, Norm made his way to the mess hall, where he knew Daniel would be, along with at least half the base at this time of day. As soon as he got there, he walked right over to Daniel and whispered in his ear, "I want to know more. I'll be at White Rock this Sunday."

Daniel looked up, a pleased smile on his face. "I hope you find all the answers you seek."

* * *

That Sunday found all the mutants gathered at the place known as White Rock. It was a huge naturally formed amphitheater that had been discovered in the rock wall protecting one side of the valley. There were seven great rings of stone around the sides used for seats and the high walls amplified the sound, so Preacher Brandon's voice carried well. The most unique feature of White Rock and the reason for its name, was the amazing pure white crystal formation in the center of the floor. Somehow, this quarts-like crystal had naturally been formed into the shape of a cross, the well-known symbol of Christianity.

However, not only mutants were gathered at White Rock today. Jake, Neytiri, and Mo'at were all there, sitting in the back so their tall frames wouldn't block the human's view. Norm was also there, wearing a rebreather since his avatar was at New Hometree and he felt like being there in his human person. He was looking around in amazement, when his eyes fell on an even more amazing sight than the amphitheater itself. He wasn't the only normal in attendance! At least a dozen or more people were wearing rebreathers and since mutants could breath Pandora's air, that meant that more normals from Hell's Gate had come! Making his way over, Norm soon saw that Max was in attendance along with a dozen others, looking eager for the service to start. Max noticed Norm's puzzled expression and smiled.

"I'm just here to learn. These guys though… turns out they're Christians too! They've had to keep their faith secret from everyone around them for so long, they only just today told me when they found out I was coming here too," he explained.

Norm was shocked. He knew these people, worked with them for just over a year, and he was just now learning they were Christians? That didn't seem right. But then he remembered the gag laws and shuddered to think he once agreed with them. Now, they left him feeling dirty. Suddenly, Norm felt he didn't belong here. Not after what he'd done in his life. He was unworthy. He was just about to leave, when he felt a hand on his arm. Looking over, he saw Maria beaming at him.

"I knew you'd come. I hope today you choose to join us in faith," she said so happily, Norm felt his shame vanish.

Smiling back, he sat down with the other normals, while Maria went to join her family on a lower ring. Norm looked over his shoulder and saw the three Omaticaya sitting in the back, eagerly waiting for the service to start. He wondered what Jake was thinking and if he would 'choose to join them in faith,' as Maria put it. He chuckled, thinking there was no way Jake would take stock in something he couldn't see. But then he remembered Eywa.

 _"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see,"_ Norm thought as the preacher took his place beside the cross and opened the service.

Brandon stood and faced the congregation, smiling at all the faces he saw. He was glad to see a group of normals from Hell's Gate as well as the three Omaticaya in the back. He hoped that this was a sign of not only unity between the three groups, but of revival back on Earth. If more people came to believe, then maybe they would have a chance of saving Earth. It was a long cherished, semi-secret personal hope of Brandon's. Snapping back to the purpose of this service, Brandon opened with a word of welcome.

"Good morning. Today we will read the story of the birth of the Church in Acts chapter two, verses one through forty-seven," Brandon said, turning in his Bible.

Apparently everyone knew where that was for there was a brief rustling of pages, then silence as Brandon read aloud, the others following along in their Bibles. After the passage was read through, the congregation discussed it and its meaning.

Norm was surprised by the proceedings. In his studies, church was portrayed as the minister doing all the talking and everyone else just going along with it. Here, everyone had a say and could tell what they thought the passage meant. However, they had to back it up with evidence from the text, to prove they understood the context.

Most people seemed to agree, though there were one or two who had differing views. They weren't mocked or ridiculed into compliance with the majority, like Norm's studies had portrayed it though. Their opinions were respected as theirs and allowed to stand, even if no one else agreed with them. At one point though, an argument did break out, but it was quickly stopped and the service continued as though nothing had happened.

After discussing the passage, the congregation stood and a group descended to the floor, where they began to play hymns on various instruments. Apparently everyone knew the words or could follow along well enough to where they didn't need hymn books. Jake watched and listened to the words of the ancient hymns, his tail and body ever so slightly swaying in time to the music. Neytiri and Mo'at were completely wrapped up in the music, swaying with the rhythm and humming along, just caught up in the moment and music.

Norm and Max listened as the rest of their group sang the ancient songs that they knew with hearty gusto, as though a dam had burst that was holding them back. In fact, the whole congregation sang loudly and enthusiastically as though there was no tomorrow, for it had been far too long since anyone could sing or speak of the Master without fear of being killed. As the worship reached its climax, the whole group, even those who had been silent before, got caught up in the worship and gave one final joyful shout, before subsiding into silence.

Then, Brandon spoke once more. "It's been far too long since I've heard such singing in worship of our God and Master. I hope more of our human brothers and sisters join us and more of our Omaticaya neighbors. That being said, let us pray."

The congregation remained standing as many prayers were lifted up from various members. Some were for healing for friends at Hell's Gate or New Hometree, but most were for revival of the church on Earth and the salvation of those in power there. Jake, Neytiri, Mo'at, Norm, and Max all wondered at this. They did not understand why these people would pray for those who had persecuted them and killed their friends and families. Why they should pray for them to be saved rather than destroyed made no sense to them, but it also made them more curious about this faith of the Christians that seemed strong enough to move mountains.

Once the praying was over, Brandon spoke a blessing and the group was dismissed until the next week. As he turned to leave, Brandon looked up at the Olo'ektan of the Omaticaya and met his eyes with a knowing look. Jake returned it with a slight nod. Both men knew they would meet again before the week was out, for the shadow of their common enemy hung low on the horizon and they could not ignore it any longer.

 **Author's Note: This is the last of my stockpile of finished chapters, so updates might become somewhat infrequent.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Looming Darkness.

The day dawned bright and early with clear skies and much sunshine; a good omen for the day. As Jake walked out of New Hometree, he took a deep breath and a moment to enjoy the pleasant scenery. Suddenly, the sentries sent up the call he was waiting for.

"Ikranay makto! Ikranay makto! The Council of Five of the White Rock Clan approach!" Makey announced as he bounded over to Jake.

Jake smiled. "Good. Tell Heyna and her cooks to prepare food for our guests."

The sentry was off like a shot and Jake moved towards where he saw the five elders of the mutant tribe landing their ikranay. A large group of Omaticaya gathered around the visitors, eager to meet their guests. Jake shook his head in amusement. No matter how many times he and the other Omaticaya saw the mutants riding their ikranay, they could not quite grasp how they managed to form the obvious strong bonds with the beasts without tsaheylu.

Stepping into the crowd, Jake greeted the five elders as Olo'ektan. "Greetings, Elders of White Rock. Your presence is an honor to us."

"Greetings, Olo'ektan of the Omaticaya. Your hospitality is an honor to us," Freda answered, as senior of the elders.

"Come. I will take you to our meeting place," Jake said, leading the way to a secluded spot.

* * *

Mo'at, Neytiri, First Hunter Sirok, and Norm in his avatar body were already there waiting to start the meeting. Jake took his place between Neytiri and Mo'at and indicated for his guests to sit. The five elders seated themselves before Illira made the introductions.

"As you know, Freda and Brandon are on the Council of Five along with myself. Maria and Matt, despite their young ages are also on the Council, for they are the most powerful of their divisions and were deemed the most capable by election. Freda is the eldest and the Elder for the Elementals. I am Elder for the Beastoids, Brandon is Elder for the Teloids, Maria for the Techies, and Matt for the Energions.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, what is the status of the incoming ship, Norm?" Illira asked.

"The ship will be here in a month. We need to get a game plan together and fast," Norm replied.

"Are you certain there is no danger with this ship?" Mo'at asked.

Jake turned to her. "Yes. They won't have any great number of warriors with them and they'll all be asleep if all goes according to plan."

"What is your plan, Jake?" Freda asked.

"What Norm and I have so far, is that he and Max will tell the people on the ship not to wake the passengers, but send down the supplies. With what's on the ship, Hell's Gate will be able to last a while longer," Jake said.

"What is on the ship that would benefit the Dreamwalker Clan?" Sirok asked.

"Food, medicine, tools… Basically things we normals need to live here and keep our home running," Norm answered with a sigh.

"What if the new Sky People don't do as Norm and Max tell them?" Neytiri inquired.

Jake responded. "The other part of my plan is to station warriors around the base to let them know we are serious. If they send troops down or refuse to leave, we make them leave, pure and simple."

"How many warriors would you need for this, Jake?" Sirok asked.

"I'd like to have at least forty if not more, but I don't want to leave less than three-quarters of our remaining warriors here at New Hometree," Jake said, shaking his head at the situation.

Illira spoke up. "I don't presume to speak for the others, but I know all the Beastoids would be more than willing to help either defend New Hometree or provide support at the base."

Freda nodded. "The Elementals will be willing to help in any way we can."

"I know the Teloids are of like mind," Brandon said.

"You don't even have to ask the Techies. The base is our home too," Maria said with a firm nod.

"I know the Energions would be more than happy to help. Especially if it meant possibly blowing something up," Matt smirked, thinking of two Energions he knew personally, who both possessed concussive powers.

Jake smiled at this turn of events. With the mutants helping to fill the gaps, he would have no problems protecting New Hometree and dealing with any surprises at Hell's Gate. Sirok wasn't quite so sure.

"Please do not take this the wrong way, I mean no offense but, what can you do? You are no bigger than small children. Granted, the Sky People are no bigger, but they have powerful weapons capable of destroying a Hometree," Sirok's eyes glistened for a moment.

The Council of Five exchanged knowing looks. Illira looked up at Sirok. "We take no offense, First Hunter Sirok. You have never seen what we mutants can do up close. Allow me to remedy the situation."

Sirok suddenly found himself flying through the air only to land in a large web spun by Illira only seconds after she had thrown him. Sirok was stunned by the little mutant's performance. She had bodily thrown him as though he was no bigger or heavier than a child's toy. Scrambling off the non-sticky web, Sirok dusted himself off and bowed to the mutants.

"I apologize, mighty Illira. You have proven that though you are small, you have great power. If all your people are as powerful as you, the Sky People do not stand a chance."

Illira shook her head. "There is no need to apologize, Sirok. Also, it is not mere strength that will grant us victory."

"True. But it will sure help," Norm said, feeling considerably better knowing he had twenty-three resident mutants willing to help defend Hell's Gate.

"Well, it seems the plan is coming together. With your help, we'll be able to fully cover New Hometree and Hell's Gate, but what about White Rock? Will you be able to help us and still defend your home?" Jake asked.

"Don't worry about White Rock. We have the best defense possible. Now we should focus on who is going to be stationed where so we can practice before the ship arrives," Brandon said.

Jake nodded. "I'm guessing the Techies will be inside the base manning whatever weapons they haven't dismantled. That'll be the last line of defense on the off chance enemy warriors get in. I will take twenty of our warriors and station them around the perimeter of the base near the tarmac. Illira, your Beastoids know the forest as well as we do. I'd like to have as many of your ikranay makto as you can spare in the trees nearby. I'm not sure what the others can all do, so I'll leave that part of the plan to the Elders."

Freda smiled. "Do not worry, Jake. We will provide support as needed. We mutants, regardless of what powers we have, are quite adaptable. We will be where you need us, when you need us."

"In that case, I leave it in your hands. We can't plan for every contingency in the time we have, but we can cover the most likely scenario. Tomorrow, I'd like to start training with your people so our warriors can get used to working with mutants," Jake replied.

Illira nodded. "We'll be here."

The other Elders nodded.

"Well, technically us Techies will be inside the base the whole time, so we probably won't be there. We'll be busy preparing our arsenal. I'm just glad most of our people have technokinesis," Maria said.

"Yeah. Most of the Energions will be here, but a few will remain at the base," Matt said.

"Leah will also remain in the base, while Jen remains at White Rock. I will be here and send out the rest as scouts. We Teloids are best employed as intel people, since most of us are telepaths," Brandon said.

"The Elementals will provide assistance where needed. We will watch and plug any holes in our defenses," Freda said.

"It is decided. Tomorrow the warriors will begin practicing for when the ship arrives. But, do not forget, we all have other duties as well. Life must go on, even with the shadows of danger on the horizon," Mo'at reminded everyone.

"Yes, so for now, let us return to those duties. There will be trouble enough to worry about in time," Illira said, as the Council of Five stood to leave.

"Before you go, would you share a meal with us?" Neytiri asked.

The Elders looked at each other, then back at their hosts smiling and nodded. "It would be our honor," Freda replied.

* * *

The war council made their way to the gathering circle for the midday meal. Everyone passed by the cooks' place and took whatever food they liked best. The mutants all had their own unique tastes and preferences. Freda liked the food wraps that incorporated meat and a type of plant that was similar to cabbage, that reminded her of the traditional Polish dishes her mother used to make. Brandon had a fondness for yerik steak and tuber mash, similar to mashed potatoes. Matt and Maria gravitated towards fruit and veggies, with a little meat on the side. Illira in true Beastoid form, had a carnivore's preference and loaded her leaf plate with meat and teylu grubs, with a little fresh fruit for dessert.

The five mutants followed their hosts and sat with them, seemingly unconcerned with the stares they were getting from the curious Na'vi. The children in particular were puzzled by them, since they couldn't understand why these humans could breathe the same air, drink the same water, and eat the same food as the People, but the other humans couldn't. Still, their elders, though rather puzzled by this phenomenon, tried to get their curious children to focus more on eating than staring.

That didn't stop one little girl from asking quite loudly, "How come the White Rock Clan can eat with us but the other tawtute can't Ma'sa'nu?"

The mother of the child turned a very vibrant shade of violet in pure embarrassment as nearly every eye turned to her and her family.

Illira, being of a fun-loving nature, smirked and spoke up. "It is because our bodies were given the gift of adaptation."

The little girl was puzzled. "What's a…da…pation?"

Illira chuckled. "The Master made us so we can live in many different places. If we have to live someplace where the air is different from our old home, our bodies can change so that we can breathe the new air. It is the same for the food and water we need to live as well."

"Why?" the girl asked.

"Hush, child! You ask too many questions," the girl's mother admonished, still feeling quite embarrassed.

Illira held up her hand. "No, let her ask. It is natural for children to be curious. After all, there's so much in this grand creation of the great Master's to learn about," she smiled broadly at the girl and her mother.

The Na'vi woman looked rather shamefaced at that and gave her daughter's questioning look a nod of consent. The girl beamed and scampered over to Illira, where she promptly seated herself next to the mutant. Illira smiled and continued her explanation of how mutants could do things normal humans couldn't because of the Master's design. The child was enthralled by Illira's simple explanations to her questions and soon a whole group of Na'vi children had gathered around to listen.

Jake, Neytiri, and Mo'at looked on with expressions of pleasure and satisfaction. It was good that the children were so comfortable around the mutants and vice-versa. It was an even better sign when they caught sight of one or two parents encouraging their children to approach the mutants with questions.

 _"Yes, this is the beginning of a new era of cooperation between our peoples,"_ Mo'at and Jake thought as they watched the scene before them.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Spark of Hope.

On Earth, the peoples of the overcrowded cities went about their daily lives just trying to survive in a world that was dying around them, with no hope for a better future. A certainty of a worse fate than the mere decaying of their world, unless the Corporations found enough unobtainium to keep the generators going, hung over the whole planet like a dark shroud, chilling the heart and numbing the soul. However, even as the masses moved through the daily grind of life, certain individuals were gathering in secret in homes and businesses all over the world. In one such place, a group comprised of good friends and family gathered in the home of Lena Moon.

* * *

"Is everyone here?" Lena asked, closing and locking the door.

"Yes. Jackson was captured last week. He thought he had found a potential new ally, but he was betrayed. Fortunately, he won't give them anything useful when they 'question' him," the last person to arrive reported.

Lena sighed. "More and more of our people are being found out and captured everyday and it seems as though no one rises up to take their place. But we cannot loose hope and I have a bit of news from Pandora that just might be the encouragement we need."

The group gathered in the tiny living room of the small apartment looked at their host eagerly. For so long they had waited and hoped and prayed for revival with what seemed like no answer. Any good news would be like water to a person in the desert for these watchers.

Lena saw the look and took a deep breath. "Our brothers and sisters are safe on Pandora."

There was a sigh of relief and some people quietly cheered. It had been unknown if the old ship would even make the trip or if it did, if those who had gone would be welcomed on Pandora. Once the first wave of happiness was subsided, Lena continued.

"They have a settlement and are actually forming very good relations with both the Na'vi and the normals who are already there. It appears that our information about the revolt at the base was accurate and those living in the base are firm friends and allies with the Na'vi. More than that, it seems a few of our brothers and sisters in Christ were among those who sided with the Na'vi and those who remain are open to hearing the gospel. Even the Na'vi are curious about our faith and seem to feel it connects us with them somehow."

"At last! The answer to our prayers! Even if we should fall here, the truth will be kept alive in fresh new ground. Where I to die tonight, I could go home happy in the knowledge our sacrifice was not in vain," an older man said, tears of joy flowing down his face.

"Don't be too eager to leave us just yet, Marlow. There's still work to be done here. My sister Leah confided to me in her last message that our cousin Illira has a feeling that revival here on Earth is about to happen. Leah feels the same and so do I. I don't know why, but I keep feeling that soon, we shall find more people willing to listen to the truth," Lena said.

"Well, I can say one thing with absolute certainty. No matter what happens, God will never desert us and His purposes can never be thwarted," a young man with shaggy black hair said.

There was a murmur of consensus among those assembled. Just then, the front door was smashed in and soldiers swarmed in, subduing and seizing everyone present. Once everyone had been cuffed and had an armed guard standing over them, stun-rifle planted firmly on their head, the commander of the squad walked in.

"You are all under arrest for treason to the government, insubordination to the governing authorities, and conspiracy to spread lies and superstitions with intent to cause mass panic. Get them out of here," he said coldly.

The soldiers hauled the Christians to their feet and literally threw them into the back of a black van. The van then quickly sped through the crowded streets on its way to the Administration of Justice building, escorted by three black armored troop transports. Every one of the Christians knew they were going to die for their faith, but each one was more determined than ever now to stand firm, the hope of revival still strong within them, having been breathed back into mighty flame with the news from Pandora.

"If they're cracking down this hard, something must have happened to spook them," a young woman observed.

"Yes. It seems the wheels of change are beginning to turn faster now. Revival is coming," Lena replied.

"Shut up, back there!" the soldier driving barked, flipping a switch.

Electricity was charged into the rear of the vehicle, electrocuting everyone in the back and knocking them out. The soldier chuckled, pleased with the pain he'd caused.

"Shocking, isn't it? They'll be feeling _that_ when they wake up," he said to his partner.

His partner looked back at the prone figures in the back with a hint of pity. "Don't you think you were a little harsh? They were just talking amongst themselves."

The driving soldier snapped at his counterpart. "They got off easy! These traitors deserve far worse than anything we can do to them. Remember where your allegiance lies," he warned darkly.

The other soldier gulped, but wisely shut his mouth. Still, he didn't know why, but he felt that what they were doing was wrong. Shoving the thought to the back of his mind, he leaned back and closed his eyes. Soon the black van and its escort pulled into the black steel gate of the twenty-story, black ultra-steel pyramid that was the Administration of Justice building. Driving down a long tunnel to the underground entrance, the soldiers readied themselves to unload the prisoners.

Once the van came to a stop, the back was opened and the now conscious but very groggy Christians were hauled out. They were forced into a line, with soldiers on either side of and behind them, then marched to some kind of registration area. Each person was forced to enter a stall where their prisoner identification number was ink-branded on their left arm. They were then forced into another slightly larger stall where they were forcibly stripped and microchipped in the back of the left shoulder. Then they were given a dark-grey prison jumpsuit and grudgingly allowed to dress. Once all this was done, they were forced to march barefoot through many long dark halls lit with glaring white lights high in the ceilings, to the prisoner area, where the warden awaited them.

The soldiers kept behind them, tightening their grips on their weapons, looking for any excuse to shoot one of the Christians in the back. However, the warden had other ideas. Stepping out in front of the line of new prisoners, the warden looked them all up and down, a grim smile of satisfaction on his face.

"So, you've caught me some new meat, eh? You hound dogs aren't so useless after all. I've got it from here, Commander. You and your dogs go on and leave me and my boys to our work," he said, never taking his eyes off the Christians.

The commander stiffened at the insult to his men and by extension himself, but made no reply. Instead, he simply about-faced and marched away, his men grudgingly following. Once they were gone, the warden's grin got positively fiendish.

"Alright, now that it's just us, let me lay down the law. Here you will be under surveillance twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, three hundred and sixty-five days a year, if you live that long. There is no place the cameras don't cover, you have no privacy. I and my boys can see you even when you're on the potty or in the shower. My word is law. If you break that law, the consequences will be so severe, anything your so-called 'god' can do to you will seem like a love-tap. Do you understand?" he asked, his expression a bizarre mix of pleasure and anger.

The Christians remained silent, but most nodded.

"Good. Once you pass through this door, your freedom is officially gone, your lives forfeit. There is no escape. Not even your 'god' can save you now. Now get in there, you useless maggots!" the warden said, smacking the first person in range with his electrified baton.

Everyone was forced through the door and found themselves in the prison common room for that cell block. A few other people were in there, milling around or sitting on the floor as there were no chairs. The first thing all the new arrivals noticed was that everyone seemed hopeless.

Walking up to one of the men near the center of the room, Lena said in a low voice, "Why are you so crestfallen, brother? Take heart, for the Kingdom has come to Pandora."

The man shook his head. "No. You speak things you hope to be true. You will soon find that there is no hope. Everything is for nothing. They have spies everywhere. It's only a matter of time before we are all dead and the Word gone forever."

Lena and the others all looked around in astonishment. "Do you all believe this? Have you all truly lost hope?" Lena asked.

The despondent looks were answer enough.

"Have you all forgotten what is written? Where are you men and women of courage?" Lena said with some fire.

Then, someone in the back began to sing.

 _"Rise up, O men of God!  
Have done with lesser things;  
Give heart and soul and mind and strength,  
To serve the King of kings._

 _Rise up, O men of God!  
His kingdom tarries long;  
Bring in the day of brotherhood,  
And end the night of wrong._

 _Rise up, O men of God!  
The Church for you doth wait,  
Her strength unequal to her task:  
Rise up and make her great._

 _Lift high the cross of Christ,  
Tread where His feet have trod;  
As brothers of the Son of man,  
Rise up, O men of God!"_

"At last! Someone holds faith! Step forward, brother and make yourself known," Lena said, looking for the singer.

A long lanky figure with long, grey, greasy, tangled hair strode forward. The man came to a stop in front of Lena and slowly lifted his face. "You bring hope with you into this darkness. Your words to Mathias reached my ears and breathed hope anew in me. I am Nathaniel Oxherd. I have been here for nearly twenty years and now, I take up the call once more. Rise up, O men and women of God! Fear not the sword of death! Our God is King and Lord as yet! Rise up in hope and faith!"

Suddenly a group of guards armed with electro-batons rushed in and began beating and shocking anyone they could lay hands on. Soon everyone was thrown into their cells and left to sleep off the shocks as best they could. However, while the warden had intended to crush the hope that was threatening to blaze up in the prisoners, his little stunt had done more to fan the flames than he realized.

 **Author's Note: I don't own the hymn 'Rise Up, O Men of God.' I just thought it would fit the scene.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11: First Ship.

The month leading up to the first ship's arrival seemed to fly by. Everyone trained everyday to prepare and soon they were working together like a well oiled machine. The day the ship arrived, everyone held their breath, waiting to see what would happen.

Jake led his twenty warriors through the forest to Hell's Gate. Once they arrived, he had them take up their positions around the compound, using for cover the sides of the buildings and some of the heavy equipment the Techies had left in strategic locations for that purpose. A hunter's call from the trees let Jake and the others know that Illira and her ikranay makto were in position, ready to cover them.

* * *

In the control room, Norm watched nervously as John, their Techie flight controller, monitored the flightpath of the incoming ship. Soon, the call from the ship's captain they had been expecting came. At a nod from Norm, John placed the call onscreen.

"Hell's Gate, this is Captain Lyle Wesik of the ISV Venture Saturn. Why are your hazmat beacons up? What's going on down there?" the captain asked.

Norm stepped up. "Captain Wesik, I'm sorry to report we've got a bit of a hazardous situation down here."

The captain blinked. "Who are you? Where's Selfridge or Dr. Agustine?"

"I am Dr. Norm Spellman, Dr. Grace Agustine's second. Unfortunately, Selfridge is gone, along with Dr. Agustine, Quaritch, and all of SecOps," Norm replied.

The captain was baffled. "What the heck is going on down there?"

Norm sighed. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. You see, some of our boys in the pathology department had one of their bugs get loose. The whole base is contaminated, so we can't let you guys bring anybody down here 'til we figure this thing out and get rid of it."

"I thought Earth bugs couldn't survive on Pandora," the captain said, not buying the story.

Norm got a very serious look on his face, with a decided darkness to it. "It's not an Earth bug."

The captain still wasn't convinced. "I thought Pandora bugs couldn't survive in an Earth environment either."

Norm shook his head. "That's what we thought, but apparently, this one has mutated to where it can. Long story short, Captain, you can't send any of your passengers down here, but we do need the supplies you are carrying. Send down a team in one of the shuttles and leave the supplies on the tarmac. We'll leave you the new fuel-cells you need to get home on the tarmac and you can grab them and go. We'll take care of the supplies once you're safely out of here. We'll keep our people inside so you won't be contaminated."

"Captain, I'm sending you all the data we've got so far on this bug. We still don't know exactly what it is, but it seems to be spread by fluids," Max said, sending a file that he and a few of the people from the microbiology department put together over the past week. He sent up a silent prayer that it was at least enough to convince the captain.

Captain Wesik opened the file as soon as he received it. He was no scientist, but what he was looking at looked an awful lot like some kind of alien virus. If that was the case, there was nothing he could do to help the folks down on the moon except leave the supplies and hope for the best. Sighing, he turned back to the screen. "Looks like you've got a nasty bug on your hands. I'm sorry there's not much I can do. I'll send a team down to unload the supplies we've got and pick up the fuel. Hopefully you guys can find a way to beat this thing."

"Thank you, Captain. That means a lot. One more word of warning, the local natives aren't exactly happy with us right now, so if you spot any, don't engage them. As long as you just ignore them, go about your business, and leave, they won't give you any trouble," Norm said.

Captain Wesik nodded. "Thanks for the heads up. I'll pass along the orders."

The call ended and everyone hoped and prayed that everything would go smoothly.

* * *

In the passenger compartment, a row of seven cryo-units opened and their passengers were released. The six longshoremen and their skipper made their way to their lockers and got their gear. They didn't need to be told what to do. They only had one job on this ship and that was to load and unload cargo. When the skipper opened his locker, he pulled up the manifest and went over it. At first everything seemed routine, but when he saw that none of the avatars they were transporting were to be delivered to the surface he was a little surprised. After all, those darn avatars were literally the most expensive things on this bucket of bolts, both to make and to move, so that they were the only things on his list that were not to be moved… well, it just didn't set right with the skipper.

"Yo, Cap. What's wrong with the manifest? Why aren't the avatars marked for drop?" he asked into his wrist communicator.

"There's a situation at the base. None of the passengers are to be waked or dropped, so the avatars stay. Only you and your boys will drop the rest of the cargo and pickup the new fuel cells so we can get back," the captain's voice replied.

"But why? Do you have any idea how expensive those things are?"

"Don't bother about that. I'll handle it. You just do your job and follow my orders, understand?"

"Aye, aye, sir," the skipper muttered.

"And, Skipper, one more thing. Seems there's a little trouble with the locals. If you see any, even if they're armed, do not engage. Do you understand? Do _not_ engage the natives or show any signs that you even know they're there. Just ignore them and do your job," the captain said.

The skipper sighed. This wasn't what he'd signed on for, but he really had no choice in the matter. "Aye, aye, Captain."

"Good. Bridge over and out."

When the skipper relayed the orders to his men, a few were none too happy about it.

"You mean to say they're sending us down into an infected area?! Some treatment! They think just because we're longshoremen that they can just blow us out an airlock once we've unloaded their cargo for 'em and they have no further use for us," said a big guy with a bald head and several battle scars and tattoos on his face and arms.

"Hold it! Before we all go gettin' hysterical, let's just remember one thing; we're longshoremen and we've got a job to do. Would our forefathers, who braved the stormy seas of old turn their backs on a job just because it could mean death? No! Where's your pride, men?" the skipper asked with some fire.

"Pride ain't gonna pay the bills and money's no good if you're dead," one of the younger men said.

"You said it, brother," a woman with long black hair and a scar on the right side of her jaw said.

The skipper shook his head. "Just get the shuttle loaded, you bunch of lily-livered jackdaws."

"Aye, aye, Skipper," the group replied, getting to work.

* * *

For the next several days the shuttle made runs from the ISV to the tarmac. Since it took about four hours to fly the shuttle one way and about another two to unload and load it, they only made two trips a day. Meanwhile, the base personnel, the Na'vi, and the mutants watched and waited. The first time they landed, the skipper noticed a few Na'vi around the base, watching them. It was a little disconcerting, but he remembered his orders and ignored them as best he could. Still, it wasn't easy and he could tell his men weren't exactly at easy being watched either. However, they kept on task and after about two weeks of tense watching by the natives, at last the cargo was offloaded and the new fuel cells were on the ship.

Back on Pandora, everyone breathed a sigh of relief when the shuttle lifted off. Once conformation of the acceleration process was received, everyone in the base cheered. However, before any of the supplies were taken into the base, Leah came out and 'scanned' each container with her mind for anyone that might be hiding inside. Once she gave the all clear, everything was taken inside and scanned by three of the Techies to be sure nothing was contaminated. Once they gave the all clear, it was like Christmas at Hell's Gate and everyone felt considerably more lighthearted than they had for the past several months. Now came a much needed respite from the danger that still loomed on the distant horizon.

 **Author's Note: I've done a little 'creative repurposing' of some ranks. In this story, a skipper is only the leader of a crew of longshoremen and their only job is to load and unload cargo. So, a captain and pretty much everybody else of rank will always outrank a skipper in the universe of this story.**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12: Joined in Faith.

As Jake and the other warriors returned to New Hometree from Hell's Gate, a great cheer went up and a feast was held in honor of the victory over the Sky People. Jake however calmed the frenzy just a bit with a sobering thought.

"Though the Sky People who came on this first ship have gone and left the Dreamwalker Clan what they need to live here a while longer, there are still two more ships that will come in the next two years and another that will come three years after that. The ship that will come six years from now will carry many warriors and weapons such as the ones that destroyed Old Hometree. But, we will be ready for them. Our heart-brothers and sisters of the Dreamwalker and the White Rock Clans will stand with us and I and the other Clan leaders will lay plans for how to fight when the time comes. For now though, let us celebrate and be glad," he said, smiling.

With that, the party whipped back up into full festive humor, though a slightly more serious undertone remained. As the festivities went on, Neytiri walked up to Jake, her eyes and body language clearly telling what she wanted. Jake smiled, his own eyes betraying his matching desire, as he took her hand and let her lead him into the forest. She led him to a spot she had found on the second day at New Hometree, but she had been waiting until the right moment to show him. It was a little dell near a small stream, a short distance from New Hometree. Jake knelt beside the stream and Neytiri knelt beside him. He soon turned to her and she to him, both looking deeply into each other's eyes. Leaning gently in, they kissed and soon embraced. Taking his queue, Jake brought it forward and Neytiri brought forward her own and they made tsaheylu. They soon lay together, entirely wrapped up in each other. The wind blew gently through the trees and a tall white figure that seemed to meld with the forest stood nearby, watching over the young mates before vanishing in the breeze. If either Jake or Neytiri had been listening, they would have heard what sounded like a woman's gentle, joyous laugh rustle through the trees.

* * *

The next morning, Jake and Neytiri were greeted with some knowing looks and smirks in the gathering circle. Mo'at had a particularly smug smirk as she sat beside her daughter and son-in-law. "Did you two have a good time last night?" she asked, earning an annoyed swat from Neytiri.

"Mother! Please! Not in front of the whole Clan," Neytiri said, turning bright purple.

Jake blushed a little himself, but chuckled good-naturedly. There had been much speculation as to when Neytiri would bear their first child, but after a little over eight months they became a little discouraged. However, Mo'at and the other women still teased Neytiri and the men did the same to Jake, all in good humor and partly to keep the couple's spirits up.

Mo'at laid a gentle hand on Neytiri and Jake's shoulders. "Don't worry so much, my children. When the time is right, Eywa will bless you with offspring. Until then, just enjoy each other as was intended."

Jake and Neytiri nodded and settled down to enjoy breakfast. Afterwards, Jake made his way through the various crafters' areas, looking over their various projects. As he approached the jewel makers' area, he spotted an ikranay taking off, a rider on its back. Curious, Jake went to see what the mutant had brought and why. Neyna, the First Jewel Maker, spotted Jake and waved him over.

"Greetings, Jake. Come! See what new jewel-stone Mia has brought us," she said.

"Mia? I din't know you knew one of the White Rock Clan personally, Neyna," Jake said.

Neyna chuckled. "But of course. Ever since you made them welcome here and permitted us to visit them, I have come to know all of their jewel makers and many others besides. Mia is a woman after my own heart and she has the gift of stone calling. She can summon the very stones out of the earth and the earth seems glad to give them."

"Geokinesis. Mia must be one of the Elementals. So, what are you and your jewel makers going to use this new jewel-stone for?" Jake asked, looking over the beautiful shining crystals.

"Have you forgotten the Four Moon Festival is coming up soon? I and the others will be busy crafting our contributions for the jewel makers' competition," Neyna replied, lightly running her fingers over some red crystals in the multi-colored pile.

Jake blinked. He had forgotten about the festival. With all the stress of moving into New Hometree and planning for the ship, everything else had pretty much been driven out of his head. Thanking Neyna for her time, Jake decided to look and see what the other crafters were doing in preparation for the festival. The Four Moon Festival was a big deal to not just the Omaticaya, but all Na'vi. Every four months or moons, all the local Clans would get together at a relatively central location, where all the best crafters from each Clan would show their best work to be judged. The winners would bring honor and recognition to their Clan and their works would be known throughout the Clans. There were also some sports for the hunters and warriors to show their skills and win honor for their Clans as well. Basically it was like a big country fair and this upcoming Four Moon Festival would be Jake's first, since he had always been too busy to attend before.

As he walked along, Jake noticed that everyone seemed to be in better spirits and doing something to prepare for the festival two months away. It was good to see people getting excited for something fun instead of worrying about being attacked and possibly wiped out of existence by a cruel and powerful enemy. Jake shook his head. He wasn't going to think about that, not today. There would be more than time enough to worry about how to prepare for the coming ships, but right now he was just going to lay his troubles aside and enjoy life, for today, life was good.

* * *

While Jake wandered around New Hometree performing his various duties at a leisurely pace, Neytiri watched him as she performed her own. It was good to see Jake so comfortable in his role as Olo'ektan and also to see him relaxing after the ordeal with the ship. Even though all had gone according to plan and the warriors hadn't needed to fire a single shot, it had still been very stressful for Jake and everyone really, but Jake had felt it most keenly. Neytiri knew that Jake still blamed himself for what happened to Old Hometree and the events after that, but she and everyone else knew that it wasn't his fault. Even if he had done nothing or hadn't been there, the same thing would have eventually happened, but with far more devastating consequences.

Neytiri shuddered to think what might have happened if Jake hadn't come into their lives. _"Everyone would have perished. The Sky People would not have stopped until every Na'vi was dead or imprisoned. It was not simply Eywa, but the God Illira and the others spoke of. He took Jake's brother so Jake would come here. If fact, I don't know why, but somehow I feel that He is the one who made Jake Toruk Makto and made us mates and even… made him Na'vi. I must speak to Mother about this."_ Neytiri abandoned her ikran and shouted her apologies to Sirok as she sprinted to where her mother was conducting a minor ceremony.

Once she was finished with the blessing for Geyto and Mirney's new baby, Mo'at looked up to see Neytiri sprinting towards her. Seeing the troubled look in her daughter's eyes, Mo'at at once rose and ran to meet her. "What is it, my daughter? What has happened?" Mo'at asked.

"Mother, do not ask me why, but I have the strongest sense of urgency that we must get Jake and take Freda, Brandon, and Illira to the Tree of Souls," Neytiri responded.

Mo'at visibly relaxed. "Then let us go at once."

Neytiri was a bit puzzled by her mother's reaction.

Mo'at smiled. "Two nights ago I had a dream, in which you, Jake, Illira, Brandon, Freda, and myself all stood before the Tree or Souls. A great light suddenly sprang from the Tree and I could see no more, for I woke suddenly. I have had no doubt the dream was a vision and your feeling confirms it."

"Then let us go quickly," Neytiri said, leading the way.

* * *

When Jake, Neytiri, and Mo'at arrived at White Rock they found Illira sitting with the jewel makers and crafting a leather necklace, decorated with green, black, red, and white crystals. Neytiri and Mo'at were fascinated by the Beastoid hunter's obvious talent and questioned her as to why she was a hunter and not a jewel maker.

"My powers make me a natural hunter, but the Master has seen fit to gift me with other talents as well," Illira replied.

Neytiri, becoming curious about the necklace itself, leaned in closer. "That is beautiful. What does it mean?"

Illira held up the finished necklace to the light, so that the others could see it. "The green crystal represents Creation and how everything was good when it was first made. The black crystal represents Sin and the Fall. The red crystal represents Redemption by the Blood of Christ. The white crystal represents Righteousness through Christ. I made this for Victor and Joan's coming baby, as it is tradition for a close family friend or relative to craft such a necklace. They will use it to teach their little one when they are old enough to understand."

Again the three Omaticaya were amazed by how much the Christian culture seemed to parallel their own. Getting back on task, Mo'at asked, "Are Freda and Brandon nearby? We have come to take you three to the Tree of Souls."

Illira was surprised, but sensing her friends' urgency, quickly rose and called out for her fellow elders. The pair arrived quickly and though surprised and puzzled as to why their Na'vi friends would wish to take them to their most sacred place when outsiders were strictly forbidden, they quickly mounted their ikranay.

Once they arrived, the six friends left their mounts and made their way to the base of the Tree. They stood there for only a moment before suddenly, a great blinding white light sprang from the Tree as in Mo'at's dream. When it dimmed enough for them to see again, the three Na'vi and three mutants all gasped in awe and wonder. At the base of the Tree stood two great, shining figures. One was as a man robed in white with wings of gold upon his back. The other was as a woman robed in white with wings of gold as well, but she seemed to be 'rooted' to the Tree somehow, unlike the man.

Suddenly, Mo'at and Neytiri recognized the woman and fell on their faces before her. "Great Mother! We are unworthy!" they exclaimed, for the whole group had been seized by a sudden fear and feeling of vileness.

To their surprise, the woman admonished them. "Never bow to me again. I am not the one you should honor."

Confused, Neytiri and Mo'at slowly rose. "But… are you not Eywa? Mother of us all?" they asked.

Eywa smiled. "I am she who is known as Eywa, but I am not the creator of Pandora. I am merely its guardian, its caretaker, for the One who truly created the heavens and the Earth. It is He, whom you should honor and worship."

Mo'at felt a bit like someone had punched her in the gut. "Why have you never refused our homage before?"

"Because you were not yet ready to learn the truth. Now, the truth has come to you as it was foretold. Learn well the lessons the sons and daughters of Adam and Eve have to teach you and do not fear. In time, all will know the truth, though not all will choose to See it," Eywa replied gently.

While Mo'at and Neytiri pondered what they had just learned, the shining man turned to Jake, Illira, Freda, and Brandon. "Do not fear your heritage, for though much evil has come of Earth and those who dwell there, even now all is not lost. The Word has long lay dormant in the hearts and minds of the faithful, but now the time is fast approaching when it shall rise up once more like a breaking dawn, bringing hope to the hopeless and light in a darkened world. Teach your heart-brothers and sisters all you can."

Jake looked up, the fear clear in his eyes. "But… I don't want to destroy the good here. I don't want to poison this place."

The man looked at Jake and though there was sympathy in his eyes the command in them was undeniable. "Do not refuse the tools the Lord has provided. What you fear as destruction, He shall use to preserve this world and all its people. It was for this reason that you were brought to Pandora; that your training and knowledge of Earth and human skills would be used to protect that which you are now part of. After all, it was by His hand that you were made Toruk Makto and Na'vi."

Jake's jaw dropped when he heard that. God made him Na'vi? Not Eywa? But as he thought about it, Jake suddenly experienced the transfer from his human body into his avatar again in memory. However, this time he saw or rather perceived clearly the hand of God literally taking him out of one body and placing him in the other. Jake also perceived that all of his genetics had been changed into their Na'vi equivalents, so he wasn't simply a man in an avatar body, he was Na'vi completely and fully. That also made him realize something else; he and Neytiri could have a kid at any time!

When Jake woke from his memory trance, he and the others all saw the two angels vanish as quickly as they had appeared. Once the group of mortals were alone, so to speak, Illira was the first to break the silence. "Our prayers have been answered. We are where we need to be and revival is about to happen once more on Earth."

"Yes. There is hope for Earth yet," Brandon said, a tearful smile on his face.

"But even if Earth is too far gone to be saved by human hands, there is hope for the survivors to make a new life here on Pandora as God works His will," Freda said.

Mo'at walked over to Brandon and knelt to be at eye-level with him. "Tsahik Brandon, I need your help. I do not know the Great Master, but I must come to know Him if I am to do my duty as Tsahik."

Brandon smiled and took Mo'at's hands in his own. "Do not fear, heart-sister. All you must do is ask Him to come into your heart and He will do so. He is all around us and is never far from each one of us. All we need do is reach out for Him and we will find Him. Let us pray."

In that moment, Mo'at, Neytiri, and even Jake all made the choice to join the Christians in faith and gave their lives to Christ. Once the choice was made, each felt a great presence enter in and a peace that surpassed all understanding washed over their minds and hearts. Opening their eyes and rising from their knees, the six friends walked back to their mounts and rode back to their respective homes knowing and taking comfort from the fact that a new and utterly unbreakable bond was now formed between them.

 **Author's Note: I've been waiting to do this reveal for a while. However, I may or may not get the next chapter out on schedule since I'm still working on it.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait, I had a major case of writer's block. Anyway, on with the story.**

Chapter 13: Four Moon Festival.

The day of the Four Moon Festival soon arrived and everyone was in high spirits. Neytiri was practically bouncing like an excited child as she dragged a still rather sleepy Jake down to breakfast. After breakfast, everyone who was going to the festival made their preparations for departure. Families organized themselves, crafters chatted about who they thought would take top honors in the competitions, warriors and hunters prepared for the games, and Jake watched while helping Neytiri pack some light provisions.

As soon as people were ready they left, traveling primarily by ikran, though a few rode pa'li. At the festival grounds, Jake was enthralled. He had heard about the old country fairs of Earth, but he had never been to one due to the fair grounds being a thing of the past. Everywhere he looked he saw something interesting. There were tents where the crafters' contributions were being judged, there were stalls where people could trade for various things, there was an area for the cooks where folks could come and go at their leisure as they enjoyed the festivities, and there were a few arenas marked out with vine rope where the warriors and hunters competed in the games.

Neytiri laughed to see Jake's expression of childlike wonder as she led him through the festival. They stopped at the weavers' tent where Neytiri's best friend Liwa was presenting her contribution to the judges. Once the judges moved on, she came out and chatted with Neytiri for a bit before moving off with her mate and little one. The next place Jake and Neytiri stopped was the fire pits where they tried some foods from other Clans. Jake found he was particularly fond of a type of food pocket from the Li'ona Clan made of baked dough filled with fruit, rather like a fruit tart. Neytiri chuckled to see him eat one in two huge bites and go back for more.

As they walked to the arenas where the warriors and hunters where engaging in the games, Jake looked around at all the people at the festival. Everyone seemed happy and excited as they enjoyed the festivities with their family and friends. He smiled and took another bite of his third fruit pocket. Neytiri led Jake towards one arena in particular, her eyes shining with excitement. Jake smiled and followed, finishing off his snack.

When they arrived, the crowd started cheering. Jake was confused for a moment, but then realized that all the other warriors at this arena were Olo'ektan from the other Clans. Jake looked at Neytiri questioningly.

Neytiri smiled. "This is the Competition of First Warriors. Here, all the Olo'ektan show their skills in combat. You will do well, Jake. I know it," she said pushing him towards the arena.

Jake smiled slightly and entered the arena. The contest consisted of three events; archery, staff, and hand-to-hand. For the archery part of the competition, the Olo'ektan lined up facing fist-sized targets. Each archer had four arrows and whoever got the most arrows nearest the center of their target was the winner. Jake did well, actually splitting one of his arrows by striking the same spot twice, but it was Virey of the Ikran Clan of the Eastern Sea who won, splitting three of her arrows, hitting the dead center of the target every time.

After the archery, the Olo'ektan were split up into pairs for the staff sparring contest. As contestants were defeated, the victors would fight whoever was ready in an almost free-for-all style of tournament until only one remained. An Olo'ektan was eliminated if he or she fell or was disarmed. Jake made it to the final bout, but Ko'kan of the Li'ona Clan bested him with a clever disarming trick.

It was in the final stage of the competition that Jake truly shone. In hand-to-hand combat, none could best him and he easily defeated all opponents. The Na'vi were amazed at his prowess and how quickly and easily he defeated his opponents. The Omaticaya cheered enthusiastically for their Olo'ektan as he took top honors for the unarmed combat. After that, Jake and Neytiri watched some of the other events and strolled leisurely through the grounds, just enjoying the festival like everyone else.

As they came near the singers' place, Jake and Neytiri heard and saw something that made them smile. Illira and a small group of other mutants where singing various hymns which they had translated into Na'vi and some of the Omaticaya singers were with them. What really made the Omaticaya Olo'ektan and his mate smile though, were the looks of puzzlement and wonder on the Na'vi from the other Clans' faces as they listened. However, Jake noticed some of the warriors gripped their weapons, obviously suspicions of the mutants. He couldn't really blame them, but it did sadden him to see the fear and distrust in their eyes.

Mo'at came over a moment later and led them aside. "It is time," was all she said.

Jake and Neytiri nodded, knowing full well what Mo'at meant. Freda and Brandon met them as they proceeded to the War Council that was to be held at the Festival. However, when they arrived, they were met with opposition from the other Clan leaders.

"Sky People are not welcome here! Tell them to leave at once!" Akutey, Olo'ektan of the Kekunan Clan exclaimed.

"We understand your distrust of us, but we are not like the Sky People whom you fought," Freda said, taking a stance that clearly showed she was the leader of her people.

The other Clan leaders were shocked and amazed that these Sky People spoke Na'vi fluently, even more so than those who had come before them. Not to mention female Olo'ektan were rare at best. Jake then took the lead, introducing Freda and Brandon to the assembled leaders.

"This is Freda, Olo'ektan of the White Rock Clan, and her mate Brandon, Tsahik of White Rock," he said, officially presenting them.

Freda and Brandon inclined their heads in respect to the Na'vi. Most of the Na'vi remembered their manners and returned the gesture, but a few were still too suspicious of the newcomers. Akutey was the most vocal in his objections.

"How do we know we can trust these Sky People? Did we not just fight them to preserve our homes and families? You, Jakesully. Did not your Clan recently encounter a Sky Person ship? Yet here you bring the enemy into our councils!"

Jake stood firm and his eyes hardened. "The White Rock Clan are the allies and heart-brothers and sisters of the Omaticaya. They have proven their goodwill and loyalty both by standing with us against the Sky People ship and in the way they live with the land."

The other Na'vi leaders were astounded to hear Jake claim the Sky People as a Clan and allies, but even more so by his implication as to their mode of living. Virey, Olo'ektan of the Ikran Clan of the Eastern Sea, stepped forward. She looked Freda up and down curiously, while her mate Balu, Tsahik of their Clan, did the same with Brandon. It was rare that the roles of Olo'ektan and Tsahik fell to the opposite gender, with them being the current exception.

"Olo'ektan Freda, how did your Clan come to walk among us?" Virey asked, sensing there was an important story behind the strange humans' presence.

Freda related the tale of how the mutants had been driven from their homes on Earth, due to the new 'Mutant Workforce' program the RDA had undertaken. As they listened, the Na'vi who were unfamiliar with the story were shocked and horrified by the accounts of the cruelty and barbarism of the soldiers who stole children away from their parents and sometimes would imprison or kill the parents if they resisted. Even Akutey was stunned speechless.

Once Freda was finished, Sänume, eldest of the Tsahik and much respected among the other Clans, stood up, a grave expression on her face. "Surely it is no mistake or coincidence that you and your people walk among us, Olo'ektan Freda. Now, I believe is the time to reveal what I have long kept hidden in my heart. Many moons ago, I had a vision of a great metal bird descending from the sky, bringing with it a trail of fire. It scorched the ground where it landed, on the Hometree of the Omaticaya and would have laid waste to all, if not for the spark of light that sprang from its heart. This spark took the form of Toruk Makto and extinguished the fires of the first bird, but on the horizon, more were coming, too many for even mighty Toruk Makto to conquer.

"It was then I saw a second metal bird, injured and dying, making its way to our world. It burst into flames in the sky and a shower of little sparks fell to the earth. These sparks soon united and became a great light, like a beacon, and I saw the Tree of Souls shining with like light. This light pointed to Heaven and I saw the Great Master of all. He turned His eyes to me and I was filled with terror, for I knew I was unworthy. He smiled and said in a voice that held all power in Heaven and earth, yet was most kind, 'Do not be afraid, Sänume. For though a time of great darkness comes to Pandora, I send My children to bring My light to you, that you may know Me and not be overcome by the darkness of fallen Man.'

"I then woke and I knew that all that we had once believed was mistaken. I trembled with fear, for I knew in my heart that none may See the Great Master who do not follow Him, but again I heard His voice say, 'Do not fear. A light comes in the darkness.' I then knew, all would be well."

Turning to face Brandon and Freda, she smiled. "You and your people, are more important in this war than you know, _'For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.'_ Is it not so?"

All standing by were amazed! The Na'vi because they did not know of any such words of wisdom in their history and the mutants because they had no idea how a Na'vi they had never spoken to before had come to know the twelfth verse of the sixth chapter of Ephesians. Suddenly, the whole meeting took on a new tone. All the assembled Na'vi leaders were anxious to learn all the strange White Rock Clan could teach them and Brandon and Freda had their work cut out for them answering all their questions. However, Brandon was soon in his element, reading passages from his Bible and explaining the ancient history of Earth and the universe with the help of his wife Freda when he got a little too enthusiastic.

All the Tsahik present felt clearly the truth of the words they heard and most of the Olo'ektan as well, especially after hearing Mo'at, Neytiri, and Jake's testimonies, but there was still one who was simply unable to overcome his distrust of humans. Even so, the meeting was forced to adjourn due to night falling, but most of the Clans eagerly requested that Christians be sent out to their Clan Homes so that they might learn more of the Great Master. Only the Kekunan Clan refused. Akutey was still too distrustful of humans and though he would never admit it, he was afraid of them and the brutal power they had shown. All in all though, the first inter-Clan war council was a success and plans were laid for the next day of the Festival and everyone left to enjoy the evening festivities before turning in.


	14. Chapter 14

**Author's Note: As always, I don't own the hymn 'A Shelter in the Time of Storm.' Also, heads up, this chapter can be considered to rate a strong T to slight M for scenes of torture and mention of nudity.**

 **In reply to Seeker3: Thanks for the support. I just put a disclaimer whenever I use a song that I didn't write because if copyright laws, etc. I'm also using primarily hymns because I'm less likely to run into copyright issues and it's part of the plot that will be explained later on (if I don't forget that is).**

Chapter 14: Tiny Spark, Mighty Flame.

The Administration of Justice building was a place of darkness. The warden and his enforcers were brutal, but despite the overwhelming odds, something inexplicable was happening. The Christians were taking courage.

 _"The Lord's our rock, in Him we hide.  
A shelter in the time of storm…"_

The enforcers quickly broke up the worship, beating anyone and everyone they could lay hands on. The warden soon arrived, looking furious.

"How many times will you defy my law? No singing or even _thinking_ about your worthless god! If you continue to defy me, I will have no choice but to take extreme measures," he growled.

"Though you should torture us, still we will obey our God. Yea, even though you should kill us, still we will not turn away," Lena replied.

"Oh, I'll do something much, much worse than killing you. Know that you brought this upon yourselves, Christian scum. Starting tonight, you will know the meaning of unimaginable suffering," the warden said, his voice deathly low.

The warden then ordered the prisoners all to solitary confinement. That night the Christians found themselves at the mercy of the Punishers, an elite group of torture experts who all took a cold, scientific approach to their work. No one had ever been able to withstand their torture technics in living memory. This would be one of the most brutal tests of the Christians' faith. This, would burn away the dross and bring forth the gold, crush away the dust and bring forth the diamond.

* * *

That first night was one of the worst Lena had ever experienced. She was locked in a tiny space, barely big enough for her to stand up in and certainly too small to lay down comfortably in. The Punisher working on her kept her from sleeping with loud noise and varying the temperature so drastically she wasn't sure whether it was hot or cold in her cell. As the weeks wore on, more and more tortures were added. Lena was periodically deprived of sleep, food, and water, she was forced to urinate and defecate in a small bowl and even that was completely taken from her soon after, she was completely stripped, and periodically beaten, whipped, and burned. All of these, among other things, were done deliberately and methodically, all calculated to break her spirit by slowly depriving her of everything that represented human dignity until she was left in a state worse than that of an animal. Lena had long lost count of the days since the torture began, but throughout it she was acutely aware of one thing; a loving comforting presence with her in all that happened.

After several weeks had passed, the warden visited each of the prisoners personally. Stopping at each cell, he inquired whether the person was willing to admit that God did not exist and that they were utterly defeated. Each time he received the same answer. Finally, he approached Lena's cell, the cell of the one person he considered to have given him the most trouble. Looking in, the warden smirked when he saw that Lena had been reduced to a state of leaning against the wall barely conscious, utterly exhausted and just drained physically.

"So, you ready to finally admit defeat? Your 'god' can't save you now," the warden sneered.

Lena lifted her head. Her eyes were bloodshot and one was nearly swollen shut from her last beating, but the look on her face was unmistakeable. It was a look of utter peace and confidence, the same look that had graced the faces of the other prisoners and it infuriated the warden. He knew what her answer would be, even before she said it.

" _'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.'_ Psalm twenty-three verse four. I am not afraid of death, why should I be afraid of you or your power? The Lord is with me yet. He will triumph over you and your masters," Lena said before slumping back down.

The warden was enraged! He threw open the cell door and grabbed Lena by the throat, jerking her to her feet and then slamming her into the wall. He would have killed her if the Punishers hadn't stepped in and dragged him away.

"Let me go! I am your superior! I command you to let me go!" he yelled, thrashing angrily.

"You are too emotionally involved. You need to let go of your emotions and see this from a scientific perspective," one of the Punishers said in a cold, impassive voice.

"Bah! Your methods haven't worked! You've done everything and yet these… these… scum seem to be completely unaffected!" the warden screamed.

The Punishers all got identical looks of contempt on their faces. "They are more resilient than any subjects we have yet encountered, but I can assure you that they will break in time. Be patient. You will get your results," the lead Punisher said, turning and heading back to his work, the others on his heels.

* * *

The weeks turned into months and no results. Some of the Christians died from the torture despite the Punishers' best efforts to keep them alive, but most withstood it, and all steadfastly refused to bend to any will besides the Lord's. The Punisher who had the task of breaking Lena was baffled. No matter what he did to her, it seemed as though she had an inexhaustible source of strength. Though he believed he knew better than to take stock in the Christians' so called 'god,' he couldn't deny the fact that any other person would have broken long ago and he was at an utter loss to explain it.

One day, he simply couldn't take it anymore. "How? How do you do it? Any other person would have broken months ago. Our torture technics are infallible. How do you still resist?"

Lena looked at him as best she could, considering her face was bloody and bruised beyond recognition. "God is my strength. You think it is my own strength and will you fight to subdue and break, but it isn't. It is God's."

The Punisher blinked, confused. "Surely you must hate me for what I'm doing to you and what my colleagues are doing to your friends?"

Lena shook her head, the tiniest of smiles on her lips. "Not at all. I know that all this is merely a trial sent from Heaven to burn away my impurities and make me more like Christ. The others all know the same and because of this, we do not and will not hate you."

Now the Punisher was so utterly baffled he couldn't find it in himself to continue. Instead, he adjusted the temperature in the cell to comfortable level and left without a word. Lena simply curled up as best she could with a relieved sigh and a prayer of thanks for the respite. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit was at work in the hearts and minds of men, women, and children all over the Earth, preparing them for the coming great revival.


	15. Chapter 15

**Author's Note: Sorry for the long wait. Anyway, I am not dead nor did I abandon this story, but it might take a while to finish it. Thank you for your patience.**

Chapter 15: Change of Heart.

The cell door opened and a pile of clothes were tossed inside. Lena looked at the pile in confusion. A silhouette appeared in the door and a voice whispered frantically.

"Get dressed and hurry! We don't have much time!"

Lena got dressed as quickly as she could, considering she was sporting quite a few injuries from the torture she'd suffered. As soon as she was dressed, she stumbled out of the cell and was surprised to find the Punisher who was supposed to break her. What was even more confusing was the genuine fear in his eyes as he looked around, as though he expected to be jumped at any second.

"What…"

"I'm sure you're wondering why I'd help you and your friends escape. Quite frankly, I'm wondering the same thing, but… I've just got this feeling… Anyway, we need to get moving. It won't be long before they've discovered what I've done. Here. This injection will give you some strength and energy. You'll need it for the road ahead," the man said, giving her the injection.

Lena at once felt the pain in her body significantly lessen and a flood of energy course through her body. She followed as the man opened each of the cells where the remaining Christians were. To most he gave the sim-injection, but some were strong enough to do without it. At first, all went well as they got close to the exit and even the fearful ex-Punisher felt they might make it after all. That was when they heard the dogs.

Looking back, Nathaniel saw a large pack of vicious Rottweilers tearing after them. These particular dogs had been trained to attack and mutilate humans. They were only used if the handlers didn't particularly care if the victims were alive or dead by the time they got there. Just then, a black armored troop transport crashed through the gate and screeched to a halt ten feet away from the front of the crowd of escapees. The ex-Punisher breathed a sigh of relief and hurried forward. Throwing open the door, he quickly began helping everyone into the vehicle.

While everyone was piling in as quickly as possible, Nathaniel could tell they weren't going to all get in before the dogs were upon them. Taking a deep breath, he turned away from the vehicle and freedom and charged the dogs, screaming at the top of his lungs and flailing his arms like a madman. The dogs were startled at first, but by the time he reached the center of the pack, they were upon him. Nathaniel fought, but there were too many and he was old and weakened from the torture. Just before his strength gave out though, he heard the sound of the door slamming shut and the transport tearing out of there. Just before that, he had heard someone call out to him, but he knew his time had come. As the dogs mauled his body, Nathaniel lifted his eyes to Heaven and smiled as he saw his Savior waiting for him.

* * *

Lena sat slumped down in a seat, her expression one of numb shock. Those in the transport with her knew why. She had been one of the last of the group and had heard Nathaniel's screaming and saw his mad charge at the dogs. Mathias laid a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"It was always like Nathaniel to charge into trouble to help someone else out. He was a soldier once. Saved his squad more times than most care to recall. He sacrificed himself to save all of us. Let's not dishonor that by letting regret consume us. Nathaniel wouldn't want that," Mathias said.

"How would you know?" Lena asked.

"Because he was my brother and we served in the same unit. Thanks to you and him, I have hope once more that our struggle is not in vain. The Lord is with us yet and Nathaniel is with Him now. We _must_ carry on the fight."

Lena closed her eyes. "I know. It's just… what a horrible way to die. I never saw someone actually die before, let alone like that."

Mathias patted her shoulder. "Give it time, but most of all, give it to Christ. He will keep you sane, but only if you give it all to Him."

Lena smiled ever so slightly. "You're right. Thank you, Mathias. I know Nathaniel would be proud."

Mathias smiled and sat back down.

Someone across the aisle asked the question on everybody's mind. "Um, why the heck would a Punisher help us? Not to mention, who the heck is driving this transport and where are we going?"

The ex-Punisher rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I don't really know myself why I decided I had to help you. All I know is I just couldn't take it anymore, the feeling that what we were doing, what I was doing, was wrong. It was driving me crazy, so I decided to bust you all out, but I needed help. The guy driving is one of the soldiers who captured most of you. Turns out, he also had the same feeling I did, so I wasn't going crazy. We hatched this crazy rescue mission plan together along with help from someone who called himself Maverick."

"Maverick! As in, the mercenary?" Lena asked.

"Well, he never told me his profession, only that he had connections that could get us offworld and headed to Pandora," the ex-Punisher said.

"I can't believe Maverick has returned after all this time. I thought he was still in deep cover," Lena murmured.

"So… you know this Maverick fellow? What's he like?" the ex-Punisher asked.

Lena smirked slightly. "He's like his name, unorthodox and slightly random, but he's one of the best friends I have. I presume this means we are headed to one of his warehouses where he keeps his secret ship."

"I don't know where we're going. Maverick only told the driver where to meet one of his people who'll hook us up with our transportation."

"Yep, that sound's like something Maverick would set up. I don't think we have anything to worry about. It will be good to see my sister again," Lena said.

There was a general murmur of consensus among the passengers as they rode through the night. It wasn't long before the transport came to a stop and the driver got out. A young woman took the wheel and the soldier took the passenger seat. Lena recognized the woman as one of Maverick's people and she drove quickly to a spot well outside the city. Suddenly everyone felt a tingling sensation and then found themselves inside a large warehouse.

"What the heck happened?! Teleportation is impossible!" the soldier exclaimed.

The young woman grinned. "Not for a mutant. Now, you all wanna get off this rock and to Pandora, eh? Lena? I didn't know you'd be here."

"It's good to see you too, Tera. How's Maverick?"

"Ha! Don't worry, your boyfriend's fine. He can handle himself you know. We're really close now. In fact, you're lucky Cyrus picked up on this guy's not so discrete transmission before anyone else did. At any rate, Maverick and the team are still undercover, but they'll meet us on Pandora with the _Nightshade_. Fortunately, the _Shadow_ is faster and we'll get there first so you can meet him once they secure the ISV _Venture Sol_ in two years give or take. Now, let's get rolling or we'll be late for the party," Tera said, heading to the sleek black ship in the middle of the warehouse.

"Um, pardon me, but how are we going to launch?" the ex-Punisher asked.

Tera grinned. "You'll see. Now, those of you who need medical attention, my little cousin Justin will tend you in the med-bay. Everyone else, strap yourselves in."

While the former prisoners received treatment for their wounds, the ex-soldier and ex-Punisher found some seats and strapped in. It wasn't too long before everyone was treated and strapped in. Tera took the controls of the ship and opened the hidden doors that were the roof of the warehouse. After a quick countdown, the ship took off, rocketing out of Earth's atmosphere and entering hyper-flight as soon as it cleared.


End file.
